HAVE YOU HEARD?
By Brenda J. Davis
Reading A.W. Tozer’s Pursuit of God (Christian Literature Crusade) is like taking a long road trip through the mountains with frequent stops in order to take in the stunning views. I’ve read and re-read this little book many times since 1980, and I always find new “lookouts” where the scenery takes my breath away.
I discovered just such a place one morning recently, when reading the chapter on “The Speaking Voice.” In it he wrote: “God is forever seeking to speak Himself out to His creation…. He is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice.” Now that’s a place to stop and think.
Although Tozer does not live in our day, many things remain as they were when he was alive. One thing is our incessant busyness. He put it this way: “Whoever will listen will hear the speaking heaven. This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the opposite end of the pole from there. Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God.”
In His Word, when God says to us, “ ‘Be still and know that I am God’” (Ps. 46:10, NKJV), Tozer says, “He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence.”
Tozer’s custom was to read His Bible on his knees, praying for wisdom and an impartation of God’s truth to His heart. He wrote: “If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.”
He ends this chapter with this prayer that I think serves as a model for what we’re all thinking today: “Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears’ (1 Sam. 3:10). Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen.”
Brenda J. Davis is the editor of spiritledwoman.com.
Reading A.W. Tozer’s Pursuit of God (Christian Literature Crusade) is like taking a long road trip through the mountains with frequent stops in order to take in the stunning views. I’ve read and re-read this little book many times since 1980, and I always find new “lookouts” where the scenery takes my breath away.
I discovered just such a place one morning recently, when reading the chapter on “The Speaking Voice.” In it he wrote: “God is forever seeking to speak Himself out to His creation…. He is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice.” Now that’s a place to stop and think.
Although Tozer does not live in our day, many things remain as they were when he was alive. One thing is our incessant busyness. He put it this way: “Whoever will listen will hear the speaking heaven. This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the opposite end of the pole from there. Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God.”
In His Word, when God says to us, “ ‘Be still and know that I am God’” (Ps. 46:10, NKJV), Tozer says, “He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence.”
Tozer’s custom was to read His Bible on his knees, praying for wisdom and an impartation of God’s truth to His heart. He wrote: “If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.”
He ends this chapter with this prayer that I think serves as a model for what we’re all thinking today: “Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears’ (1 Sam. 3:10). Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen.”
Brenda J. Davis is the editor of spiritledwoman.com.
posted by Brenda Davis at
9:34 AM
4 Comments:
Our ladies bible study discussed this just this morning...why does God not 'speak' to anyone anymore as in the old days... being silent and listening may be our problem.
I so enjoy your on line devotional and thoughts on paper - i actually tend to believe that He is shouting to us and we're still not listening. Psalm 46:10 has been one of my life scriptures now for about 45 yrs. When the Spirit spoke it to me i can tell you exactly where i was - pregnant with my lst son - already heartbroken in a situation i could not change and HE spoke - 'shut up and leave him alone'. i have been trying to do that all these many years and God truly has worked on my behalf and brought change in 'him' - and me too! Thanks for the reminder again today that He alone is the true Voice in anybody's wilderness - certainly mine and to Him be all praise. sue
Oh, how I thank God for His present voice. Recently, I lost a stone from a piece of jewelry my sister gave me. It was missing for a while, but I sensed the Lord telling me all along that I would find it.
I had no natural hope of doing so. It was small, and it was an odd color that I couldn't easily replace. It could have been a hundred different places. But whenever I remembered it, I felt an unnatural peace that I knew was God telling me not to fret over it.
Also, I felt that somehow this experience wasn't just about my finding the stone. It was a lesson in listening to the voice of the Lord. God was showing me how to hear Him. It was a very important lesson I was going to need in order to walk in His peace and make decisions down the road.
His goodness knows no end!
This subject came through today from another one of our group of "Fasters" that fast on Thursdays for our families. It is humbling to be part of God's gentle rebuke, but assuring to know He wants to speak with us.
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