1 Kings 19:11-13 (American Standard Version)
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake: 12 and after the earthquake a fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
In the above scripture we find a situation where Elijah desired to hear from God and the account of God responding to Elijah's request. God instructs Elijah to leave the cave he had been hiding in and stand out on the mountain as He passes by. Notice, the natural Earth itself could not stand still before the presence of God; strong winds, an earthquake and fire all are created when God passed by.....but....afterwards a calm comes upon the mountain where Elijah stood and at that time Elijah was able to hear the "still small voice" of God.
How often are we like Elijah? We ask God to come into our lives and he responds, things begin to happen that are out of "our ordinary" ! We can begin to focus so strongly on the actions of God that we forget to listen to Him. To seek His direction and guidance. We need to always remember to not only look at the things God is doing in our lives but to also take time to be still and silent.....so when God speaks in His "still small voice" we are ready to listen, hear and respond.
Great post! I think this is also true in our prayer lives. I think we often forget that prayer is a two-way conversation between God and us. Usually we are the ones doing all of the talking. We expect the answer to our prayer to come in the form of miracles, signs, and wonders, and we think God is ignoring us when we don't get the answer we think we should get. In my own life, I'm learning to be still and allow God to speak in His still, small voice.
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