“And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
1 Kings 19:12
There are moments in life when the noise around you becomes so loud that it’s hard to imagine God could be anywhere in it. Sometimes we listen for Him in the thunder of circumstance, in the shouting winds of panic, in the lightning flashes of crisis, or in the trembling earthquakes of unexpected life-changes. We try to find Him in the drama of it all, in the latest breaking news, the urgent phone calls, the emotional aftershocks of grief, and yet our souls strain to see Him, or hear Him. But wait… Let a holy hush come over your heart... Quiet your soul for just a moment… Be still... He’s here. Right here in the stillness. Sometimes God is not in the noise. Sometimes God hides Himself from the wind and the fire and the quaking earth so that you can find Him somewhere far more intimate… in a whisper.
Few people in Scripture understood this better than the prophet Elijah. After one of the greatest victories of his ministry, Elijah finds himself running for his life. The man who just a chapter earlier called down fire from heaven is now emotionally spent, spiritually depleted, physically exhausted, and hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb. How many of us have felt what Elijah must have been feeling sitting in the darkness of that cave? Alone. Afraid. Misunderstood. Overwhelmed. He is so emptied out that he tells God he is ready to die. It is one of the most painfully honest, human moments in the entire Old Testament.
Yet God does something absolutely beautiful. He does not rebuke Elijah for his despair, nor does He chastise him for not claiming victory and declaring power over his enemies. Instead, God orchestrates a personal, holy encounter tailor-made for Elijah’s extremely fragile condition. A mighty wind tears across the mountain, but God is not felt in the wind. An earthquake shakes the ground, but God is not felt in the earthquake. A fire blazes with a fierce intensity, but God is not felt in the fire. Elijah watches each spectacle unfold, and each time discovers, there is no sense of God’s presence. God is teaching Elijah something vital: The Divine activity of God is not always dramatic. Divine presence doesn’t always announce itself with loud pomp and praise. Sometimes the God you’re searching for is quietly sitting right beside you, waiting for you to be still long enough to notice Him.
And then comes the Voice. After the noise fades and the shaking stops, after the fire dies down, Elijah hears it, a small, gentle whisper. A thin, quiet sound. In Hebrew, it is literally described as “a voice of thin silence,” the kind of voice you can’t hear from a distance. You have to be close. Very close. Close enough that God doesn’t need to shout, He only needs to whisper.
THE GOD WHO DRAWS NEAR
What an incredible picture this is of the God we serve. He does not merely speak to us, He speaks near us. Though the memory is faint, I can still hear my grandmother calling me over to her chair and leaning in close to give me an encouragement when my day seems to have been unraveling beneath me. She wouldn’t shout. She would quietly call my name and lean in close and remind me that everything was going to be just fine. That is how God does with us. He is so committed to intimacy with His children that He refuses to raise His voice over the noise of our world; instead, He draws us closer so we can hear Him in the quiet.
The whisper of God is proof of His nearness. It is the sound of a God who leans in, and sits beside us, and comes close enough for you to feel His words settle on your soul. It has been said that the presence of God is expressed in Scripture as the Voice of God. Every time He appears, He speaks. Abraham heard him in Ur of the Chaldees, Moses heard him on Mount Sinai, Gideon heard him in Ophrah in the winepress, Samuel heard him as a child calling his name in the middle of the night, Saul heard him while riding on the rebellious road to Damascus. When you hear Him, you will know it’s Him, because He will not shout or banter, He will quietly speak in a language that only the heart understands.
HOW TO HEAR THE WHISPERS OF GOD
There really isn’t a step-by-step guide to hearing God’s whispers, but there is an internal process that we find repeated in scripture in various forms over and over again by those who have learned to master hearing His voice. The process seems to involve, at the very least, these six meditative movements.
- LET SCRIPTURE SPEAK FIRST (Psalm 119:105)
The Word of God provides clear “light” for the Whispers of God. Scripture gives shape, boundaries, confirmation, and clarity to the whispers of God. If the Word of God doesn’t allow it, then we shouldn’t listen to it.
Practice: Read a single passage slowly. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you meaning and clarity, read it again and again, and then let the words of the scripture instruct your heart, not just your hands.
- QUIET YOUR SOUL (Psalm 131:2)
David writes, “Surely, I have behaved and quieted my soul.” Whispers cannot be heard above inner chaos. When the soul is loud, the whispers are silenced. True Spirit-filled moments always begin with a holy stillness: quieting your thoughts and allowing the noise, and worry, and anxiety inside you to settle.
Practice: Find time each day to sit, pray, and worship. Let your heart pray this prayer, “Lord, quiet my soul.”
- DRAW NEAR TO GOD (James 4:8)
The Apostle James says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” God whispers because He wants closeness. When you move toward Him in prayer; honest, raw, unpolished prayer. He moves toward you with tenderness and patience.
Practice: Speak to God honestly, as if speaking to a Father who is sitting beside you.
- PAY ATTENTION TO THE GENTLE NUDGE (Isaiah 30:21)
The Prophet Isaiah instructed us that our “…ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” God’s whispers often come as gentle impressions, an unexpected clarity, a quiet reminder, a sudden sense of peace, or a holy shift in your inner attitude.
Practice: Make it a point to sit and wait for God to speak to your heart, and not your ears. For a small season, remove yourself from every other voice, and let God know that you are intentionally waiting for Him to speak – His way, and in His time.
- TEST THE WHISPER AGAINST GOD’S CHARACTER (John 10:27)
Jesus affirmed that His character and His voice are inextricably connected when He said, “My sheep hear My voice and a stranger they will not follow.” One of the ways I control my ‘self-talk’ is by examining the resultant emotion that rises in my heart after I have the thought or hear the whisper. Does that voice produce guilt, shame, fear, or pride? If so, no matter how rational it may seem, that was NOT the voice of God. God’s voice produces the evidences of His character in our hearts: peace, truth, righteousness, and faith. Whispers that contradict God’s character are not God’s whispers.
Practice: Simply ask, “Does this whisper produce in me the nature and heart of Jesus?”
- AND FINALLY, TAKE THE NEXT SMALL STEP (Psalm 37:23)
Notice that David says steps in Psalm 37:23, when he said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” I have come to realize that God rarely reveals the entire journey. He gives only enough light for the next step. Whispers often come with just enough clarity to take the next step in faith.
Practice: If the whisper aligns with Scripture and produces peace, obey it and take a small step.
THE WHISPER THAT CANNOT BE HEARD FROM FAR AWAY
If you take note of your own story, you may notice that some of the clearest moments of guidance, comfort, and conviction came when you were able to be still. The more you worried, fidgeted, trembled in anxiety and panic, the less clear your heart became. If you think deeply enough, you will remember that God only spoke to you when you finally calmed down, sat still, and allowed Him to come close. This is the way God whispers.
Think of how often Jesus withdrew from the crowds, not because He didn’t love people, but because He loved the Father. When He was near to His Father, His soul was at home. He rose up early in the morning, slipped away into the quiet, and met God in places free from noise and expectation. Even in Gethsemane, when grief pressed Him so hard that His sweat turned to blood, He listened for the Father, not in thunder or clamor, but in the stillness of surrender to His Father’s will.
God whispers to remind us that the most important thing is not hearing His voice, it’s being near enough to feel His presence. His whisper anchors your soul and reminds us that we have a constant companion who indeed “sticks closer than a brother.”
THE JOY OF GOD’S WHISPER
There is joy hidden inside the whisper. The joy is this: if God whispers to you, then that means He is close by you. And oh what safety there is in the nearness of God. This joy may not always erupt in shouts or songs or celebrations. Sometimes joy arrives quietly… the way the morning dawn enters a dark room – almost unnoticed. Sometimes joy is the calm that settles into your bones when you realize you have not been left to manage this moment alone.
The final lesson I believe that the whispers of God are designed to teach us is that sometimes His whispers carry more power than the loudest miracle ever could. This is hope, courage, tenacious faith, and unbridled clarity, all wrapped up in the tender presence of God. And most importantly, the whisper of God trains your soul to stay close to Him. Now, tell me who can stand against us, when God is so close to us, we can hear Him whisper.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for being the God who comes near enough to me to whisper. Thank You for meeting me not only in the stormy winds and in the fire, but also in the stillness where my soul can finally exhale. Teach me how to lean in, how to listen, how to quiet the noise around me so I can hear the sound of Your nearness. Whisper to me again, Lord. Whisper hope, whisper courage, whisper peace. Let Your gentle voice steady the trembling places in my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE: CREATE A WHISPER SPACE
Today, carve out five minutes of silence, no phone, no music, no rushing. Sit quietly and imagine the Lord sitting beside you. Then, in the stillness, simply pray:
“Speak, Lord… I’m listening.”
Let your soul lean in until the quiet becomes sacred and the whisper becomes clear.
Published on Dec 22 @ 10:53 PM EDT
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