by Kimberly Due-Vacco

Created on: September 01, 2009   Last Updated: September 10, 2009

I really love the thought of the stillness speaking to me, well, not the stillness itself speaking to me exactly, but being able to listen to God's voice in the stillness. Psalm 46:10 says 'Be still and know that I am God'. As a Christian, I need to use my still and quiet time to listen to God and understand that He is in control. Having so many things going on at once, as is often the case in my house, is not conducive to stillness, but it is at times like these, when so many things are swirling around me at once that I most need to stop what I am doing and just be still.

There is no greater relationship in my life that the one I have with God. No voice should be heard more loudly in my head than God's voice. There will always be problems in life, decisions to be made, people who don't agree with me and even people who don't like me for whatever reason. I need to deal with all of these things with the voice of God fresh in my head and foremost on my heart. I cannot do that if I don't have time to let the stillness speak to me.

Sometimes we just have to make time. If we need to let a few things on our 'to do list' slide in order to stop and listen to God, then I think we should. God will surely bless our efforts to put him first in our lives. If we really make time and put forth the effort to listen, our God speaks directly to each of us in a way that we can understand. When I am still and focus my thoughts toward God, I often have snippets - words or phrases - that pop into my head. Once those thoughts come to mind I start to focus on them and then I am able to discern if it is God speaking to me through prayer and by reading scripture.

I have found that I need to test what I hear against scripture to make sure that what I am listening to is actually God and not simply Satan's deception. If my thoughts run parallel to the scripture then I am able to rest assured that I am hearing God. Then I have to put my thoughts into action. As Christians we are called upon not only to listen but also to act on what we hear.

In a recent moment of stillness, these are the phrases that popped into my head:

*Feed My Sheep

*Love others as Jesus loved

*Be a servant

I can certainly find myriad scriptures on these subjects, but, John 21:16-18, sums up all three of these phrases rather well I think. Jesus told his disciple that if he loved Jesus, he would feed Jesus' sheep. In other words, be a servant and you will show Jesus' love in the world. This scripture gave me a clear picture of what God was saying to me. Now the actions are up to me.

Of course, since God meets each of his children where they are and uses each based on our specific gifts and talents, what we each hear when we listen is likely to be different. I think that is wonderful and it just goes to show not only God's power, but also his desire for a personal individual relationship with each of us. He speaks. We listen. What could be simpler?

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