Whisper: How To Hear The Voice Of God By Mark BattersonSample

Come Closer

God has an outside voice, and He’s not afraid to use it. But when God wants to be heard, when what He has to say is too important to miss, He often speaks in a whisper just above the absolute threshold of hearing. 

My dictionary defines whisper as “speaking very softly using one’s breath without one’s vocal cords.” The use of breath instead of vocal cords is significant. Isn’t that how God created Adam? He whispered into the dust and named it Adam. 

Adam was once a whisper. So were you. So was everything else. Whispering is typically employed for the sake of secrecy. No form of communication is more intimate. 

So why does God so often speak in whispers? When someone speaks in a whisper, you have to get very close to hear. In fact, you have to put your ear near the person’s mouth. We lean toward a whisper, and that’s what God wants. The goal of hearing the heavenly Father’s voice isn’t just hearing His voice; it’s intimacy with Him. He speaks in a whisper because He wants to be as close to us as is divinely possible! He loves us, likes us, that much. 

When our children were young, I’d sometimes speak in a whisper so they would inch closer to me. That’s when I’d grab them and hug them. God plays the same trick on us. We want to hear what He has to say, but He wants us to know how much He loves us. 

Aren’t you grateful for a gentle God? The Almighty could intimidate us with His outside voice, but He woos us with a whisper. And His whisper is the very breath of life. 

There’s an old adage that those who dance are thought mad by those who hear not the music. That is certainly true of those who walk to the beat of God’s drum. When you take your cues from the Holy Spirit, you’ll do some things that will make people think you’re crazy. So be it. Obey the whisper and see what God does. Because nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice. That’s how God-sized dreams are birthed. That’s how miracles happen. 

When was the last time you invited the Holy Spirit to speak to you? Are you actively inviting God to speak to you?