Listen for the Whisper of God

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 10:37 am Post subject: Listen for the Whisper of God

And when he [Elias] came there, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What do you here, Elias? And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant: they have thrown down your altars, they have slain your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passes, and a great and strong wind before the Lord over throwing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air. And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What do you here, Elias? And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant: they have destroyed your altars, they have slain your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. (1 Kings 19:9-14)

I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit: That I have great sadness, and continual sorrow in my heart. For I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as of children, and the glory, and the testament, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises: Whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5)

And forthwith Jesus obliged his disciples to go up into the boat, and to go before him over the water, till he dismissed the people. And having dismissed the multitude, he went into a mountain alone to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. But the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking upon the sea. And they seeing him walk upon the sea, were troubled, saying: It is an apparition. And they cried out for fear. And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: Be of good heart: it is I, fear not.

And Peter making answer, said: Lord, if it be you, bid me come to you upon the waters. And he said: Come. And Peter going down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus. But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed you are the Son of God. (Matthew 14:22-33)

As we walk the journey of life, the Lord calls to us. We find Him in the gentle whispers which surround our soul. He stands near our heart, waiting for us to listen, waiting for us to hear. The way we know Him is through the blessings of love.

For each of us, He has a mission, but He leaves it to our choice to respond. As we walk His path, we may face any number of challenges and persecution within the confines of this world. As we choose to respond to the call of the Lord, some will seek to sway us, others will work to stop us in our faith, but we should not allow ourselves to be swayed, we should not allow ourselves to be stopped for behind us is the Lord. Though evil seeks to consume us, it cannot follow us to where the Lord stands for evil cannot exist in the presence of everlasting love.

In prayer we should listen for His whisper. In prayer we should ask for guidance as to the mission He has for us. Let us follow the Word of the Lord for no matter the evil we face in this time, no matter the persecution we find among those who spurn love, there is no matter of the world which can compete with the grace, joy and everlasting love of God; a love which waits for us now, a love which we will find forever in the kingdom of heaven.

What God allows is so that we may learn for the greater good. There is no power which may exceed that of God, but because He has handed over to us the choice of whether to follow Him or turn from Him, He must leave us to our devices; still He seeks to let us know that we may be saved despite our sins. He gave His Son so that we might learn death is conquered with the hand of the Lord.

The promise of God is that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The promise is that we may be forgiven our sins and may join our Lord and Savior in the kingdom of heaven if we but believe. Our salvation is not earned by what we do, but by what occurred on the cross. Still, how is it we can profess belief if we do not change our lives, do not change what we do so that we reflect the love of the Lord?

In death, sacrifice was made for our sins so that we may be forgiven and guided to the path of life everlasting. That path is only possible through the Son, for through the Son we experience the grace, mercy and love of the Lord. We are called to be an example of His love. Once we allow the love of the Lord into our hearts, we will come to understand, there is no greater sorrow than to live in the absence of God.

It is right for us to look to the Lord for help in all things, but we must also have faith that He grants to us the gifts through which we may do His will. In prayer, we should ask how He desires us to participate in His creation. As the creator of all that is visible and invisible, He is capable of all miracles; but, He reaches out to guide us as His children to do His works so that we truly understand the depth of His Word.

If today we should hear His voice, we should not hesitate to respond. We might look at the world around us and doubt as to what we as one person can do in service of the Lord, but if we have faith, we need not doubt. The world is full of examples where the faithful have come together to perform great works of love for those in need. There are any number of examples where the weak and the meek stood to make a difference in the lives around them. Through faith, they found the gifts of God through which to do His will. Through prayer, we may do the same.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier