Do You Hear God Speak?

Book Review: Whisper by Mark Patterson

I've been thinking a bit about hearing from God. The idea was on various twitter and Facebook pages because of some negative remarks on the tv show The View about Vice President Pence perhaps being crazy because he "hears Jesus speak". Apologies were given and the VP didn't seem to mind. But it got me thinking people outside the faith community clearly have questions about what believers mean when they say they hear from God.  

Frankly -  people inside church have questions too. I've talked to confused kids and concerned adults who were worried their faith was suspect because they didn't have audible conversations with the Almighty. Conversations usually include talking about how God speaks when you read the Bible, when you pay attention to your conscience, when circumstances bend together in serendipitous ways.  And sometimes there are miraculous stories where God did in fact make it clear through sound or situation what He was trying to communicate.

From now on, when I talk to someone who is wondering about listening for the action of God I'm going to encourage them to read Mark Batterson's new book Whisper. Batterson's book works through the seven ways God speaks and left me encouraged. One of Batterson's contentions is that our society is too busy, too loud, too distracted and this is why people can't seem to hear the voice of God. His advice to take a break, shut everything off and be quiet enough to listen is refreshing.  Whisper contains practical steps to take to settle your soul and stories of people who have found God's voice to be the very thing which filled up the silence. 

Bottom line?  You want to hear God?  Shut up long enough to let Him speak.