Ten Ways to Hear God

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth! ~Psalms 46:10

The winter snows are beginning to fall. I love snow. I recently finished reading Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper, a children's book about a child visiting with her Grandmother who cannot see well.  Mrs. Camper describes the things Lina hears because of snow as she walks to her Grandmother's. Lina hears shovels scraping, the crunch of her boots, the ploompf of snow falling from a limb. On and on she notices all the things she usually ignores or can't hear without snow. Finally at Grandma's, when she has only heard eight things, she hears the drip, drip of snow melting from her mittens. Lina's Grandmother has difficulty seeing. When she asked Grandma if she knows there has been a blizzard last night, Grandma said she could hear the snow when she raised her window this morning. Grandma says, "Today everything sounded hushed and soft. No noise is the sound that means it's snowing." That was the tenth way Lina heard snow. 

I could easily relate to this story because I have experienced the hush and the softness, the peace of snow. Ten Ways to Hear Snow also made me think about the ways I hear God. I wondered if I could think of ten ways that I hear our Lord. 

1. In the rustle of leaves in the breeze. —Jesus tells us in John 3 that the wind blows where it wishes and no one knows where it comes from or where it goes like the Holy Spirit as it convicts and guides us. 
2. In the laughter of children. —Jesus said to let the little children come unto him. 
3. In the reading of God's word. —The Ethiopian eunuch was reading the book of Isaiah about how the Messiah would be led like a sheep to the slaughter when Phillip encountered him on the road. Acts 8.
4. In the preaching of God's word. —Paul asks in Romans how will people hear about Jesus without a preacher
5. In the kindness and love others demonstrate. —Paul writes in ICorinthians 13 about demonstrating our faith with faith, hope, and love; love being the greatest. 
6. In the sharing of a testimony. — In Acts, Paul testifies of his conversion on the road to Damascus. 
7. In the singing of birds in the early morning. —Song of Solomon chapter two speaks of the singing of birds as a time to come away with my love, my fair one. 
8. In the chirping of crickets at night. —Jacob, running from his brother, took stones and made himself a pillow to sleep. God appeared to him in a dream that night. It was the place of Jacob's decision to follow the Lord. 
9. In the flow of still waters as I sit beside a stream. —Psalms 23 tells us God leads us beside the still waters. 
10. In the voice of God when I am still, in prayer. —In I Kings 19 God speaks to Elijah in a still small voice to get his attention and give him direction. 

The voice of God when I am still. To know the presence of God I need to be still. I need to listen to his voice, blocking out the clamor of life around me. What will he say? He will tell me truth. When all the world tries to tell me their truth, the only voice that matters is God's truth. 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. ~John 14:6

Heavenly Father, help us to be still so we can hear your truth and know that you are God and you are the one and only in control. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids:

Have you noticed God speaking in your life? Has he spoken to your heart while you were still? Maybe you were listening to Christian music, or your Sunday School teacher. Maybe you were listening to your parents as they led family devotions. 

This week, listen for the ways you hear God speaking. You might like to draw a picture or write a sentence in your journal. You will probably think of other ways than the ten I listed that you can feel and hear the presence of God. As you listen to God, He will also listen to you. Is there something you would like to tell Him?