Different things I’ve read this week have caused me to come to the conclusion God doesn’t like to shout at his people, he much prefers to whisper. This ought to be a good thing since I don’t like people shouting either. However the down side is it is really easy to ignore someone who whispers, especially if they are invisible as well.
The most obvious example of God’s preference for whispering is Elijah in the cave “…but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (1 King 19:11-12).
When someone shouts we are forced to take notice. We hear what they are saying whether we want to or not. If they are shouting it is painfully obvious what they want. Often we want God to be like that—obvious. We want him to give us clear direction, to give us a fleece—a sure indication he has spoken. We’d actually prefer God to shout.
Yet our God prefers to whisper his desires to us. When someone whispers we have block out background noises; we have to lean towards the person, we have to concentrate, and we have to listen carefully. It requires time and effort.
This is what God wants. He wants our full attention; He wants us to lean into him; He wants us close enough so he can whisper.
