Listening for God

Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings. - Proverbs 1:20-21

An old tzaddik was known to meditate under a beautiful tree in the woods. A young man, seeking to become a righteous man himself, approached the tzaddik one day and asked him, “Tell me sir, why meditate here instead of in the church or at home?”

The elder answered, “I am listening to the voice of God.” Then he invited the young disciple to sit by him. “Come. Sit. Listen.”

So the young man sat and listened. At first he heard nothing. But then, in the sound of the wind and the rustling of the branches his heart began to hear the whisperings of God’s desire to bring peace to a troubled earth. He began to understand the songs of the birds as they sang of God’s great joy when his prodigal children returned to Him. Day after day he learned as he sat and listened next to the old holy man.

But one day the tzaddik was not in his usual place. In fact, he was not there for several days. So his disciple went looking for him. After weeks of searching he found his mentor meditating near a busy intersection in the middle of a large city.

The disciple was confused. “Tell me sir, why meditate here instead of under the beautiful tree in the woods?”

The elder answered, “I am listening to the voice of God.” Then he invited the young disciple to sit by him. “Come. Sit. Listen.”

So the young man sat and listened. At first he heard nothing but the cacophony of modern life. But soon he began hearing the babble of many voices and understood that the Father enjoyed hearing his many children in His house, playing, talking, telling stories and planning bright futures. He listened to the traffic and knew that Elohim was watching over all those people simultaneously, not allowing any more trouble into their lives than was absolutely necessary to draw them to Him.

How busy God is! How vast His interests yet how intimate His care! God is everywhere simultaneously and knowledge of Him can be found anywhere we look. But in order to hear God’s Wisdom, we must be quiet. We must be still. We must listen.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

We complain to God but we rarely listen to God’s complaints. We tell God that we love Him but we fail to hear Him telling us He loves us! We listen so rarely that we may not even recognize His voice when we hear it!

Listen for the voice of God. Seek His face and know Him. Lay aside your many wants, your multitude of desires and needs and for once simply listen.