Hearing God Through the YearSample

In the Meantime

“What am I doing in the meantime, Lord? Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping.” Psalm 39:7 (MSG)

Often I find it works best if after I ask for God to speak to me, I devote the next hour or so to some kind of activity that neither engrosses my attention with other things nor allows me to be intensely focused on the matter in question. Housework, gardening, driving about on errands or paying bills will generally do. I do not worry about whether or not this works. I know that it does not have to work, but I am sure that it will work if God has something he really wants me to know or do. This is, ultimately, because I am sure of how great and good he is.

Often by the end of an hour or so, there has stood forth within my consciousness an idea or thought with that peculiar quality, spirit and content that I have come to associate with God’s voice. If nothing emerges by the end of an hour or so, I am not alarmed. I make it a point to keep listening. Very often, within a day something happens through which God’s voice, recognizably distinct, is heard. 

REFLECTION: What would be the most suitable “in the meantime” activities for you—ones that don’t require enormous attention or intense focus? Set some time aside for this kind of activity with the intention of listening for God during that time.