Episode #371 Are You Skipping Over What God Already Said? – God Is Already Here

Hey, friend. I love that I get to help you grow in your habit of talking with God and recognizing his voice. A common question that I'll get is along the lines of “what does it actually look like to notice God?” So we're gonna take this conversation over to the Lord today to see what he would want to share with you.

One of the best ways that I know to actually notice God is to go back to what he's already said in the Word. Now the Bible is living and active, and that means that it's not just God's past communication with us, it is also God's current communication with us. But especially in spaces like this, when we're talking about contemplative prayer or listening prayer, it's easy to focus on the fresh word, the phrase that will pop up in your mind or your heart. It's also easy for us to focus on instruction and direction when we're coming to God with a real specific question and we're asking him for a real specific answer. God meets us in all of those ways, but sometimes what can happen here is we focus on the next thing that we're hoping to hear from him, instead of recognizing what we've heard from him already.

And I wanna focus on Scripture for us today because we can overlook that. It can feel like, okay, that was something he said a long time ago, but I want something for today. The way I invite you to sit with this concept today is through a passage about Elijah in 1 Kings chapter 19. Oftentimes when we read this passage of Scripture, we jump a little bit ahead, we're at verses like 11 through 13. How there's all of these loud things that could have been the way that God was speaking, but instead his voice comes in verse 13 in a whisper, in a still small voice. But what I wanna draw our attention to is before we get to verses 11, 12 and 13, God is already speaking in verse 9. It says,

“There, talking about Elijah, he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah?

And he said, I've been very jealous for the Lord. the God of hosts, for the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. And I even, I only am left and they seek my life to take it away.”

Elijah's been running for his life literally.

And then verse 11,

“And he said, go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah?”

I wanted to read this passage for us because oftentimes when I've read it or when I've heard it taught, the focus is okay, God could have been in the earthquake or the fire or the wind, and he wasn't. It was the still small voice that he used to speak to Elijah. And honestly, I get that focus, right? Like, I would love it if God came to me with a loud declaration. I would love a neon sign to be like, this is me, and this is what I'm saying to you and I am the Lord. But oftentimes, the way that God communicates with us is softer and smaller, is less dramatic.

The small whisper is actually repeating something that God had already said to Elijah back in verse 9. “And behold the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah?”

Then again, when he came out of the cave at the sound of the low whisper, the voice came to him again. What are you doing here, Elijah?”

This experience Elijah had with God reminds me of my own experiences with God. That not only can I look for the big neon sign, the big bold declaration to interrupt my focus, but I can also look for the next thing God is saying and I can skip over the thing that he's already said.

Because so much of noticing is not skipping over.

So much of engaging in conversation with God is not just leaving things at one question answer, but is actually continuing in a conversation. Because not only is the Word of God living and active, he himself is living and active.

And so the invitation that I wanna leave you with today is to ask God to help you notice him more in his Word. To help you connect with him in listening prayer as you open your Bible.

God, as I read your word today, what's something that you want to draw my attention to? What's something that you're saying to me?

And then take whatever time you have. Maybe it's the next two minutes, but open your Bible and be attentive to the Lord for what he might share with you.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

Connect with Jen on Instagram