A Time to Listen

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. (Ecc. 3:1)

When my turn to post on the blog site is coming close, my normal practice is to ask the Lord in prayer, “What would you have me write this time?” Usually some verse from Scripture will come to mind and ideas begin to flow from that. For some reason, I wasn’t getting any answer this time. I tried combing through my collection of books to see if a title there might spawn some idea. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

That kind of thing happens a lot in life too. We are trying to solve some problem, or figure out how to best accomplish a task. Authors often speak of “writers’ block” when the stream of ideas that is normally in evidence seems to just stop for no particular reason. I certainly experienced that on occasion when I was in graduate school (most often when I had procrastinated getting an assignment started!). Even St. Paul found himself lost for words from time to time. In Ephesians 6:19, he asks the believers there to pray for him, “that speech may be given to me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel.”

Often, the best approach is to not force the issue. Trying to “make” an idea come often puts it that much further out of reach. The same is true for prayer. Prayer is truly a gift; we can’t force God to speak to us. But though He may remain silent for a time, He has not left us. Rather, He uses that seeming absence to draw us even close to Himself, and to teach us to better listen for His voice. Be still and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10). In that perceived void, we can learn to trust His grace at work in us, for we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

Prayer Request:
For those struggling to hear God’s voice. For those who have stopped listening for His voice.

Prayer:
Lord, our God, we know that You are with us always, walking with us through our life’s journey. Help us to remain faithful to our covenant with You in those times when we don’t hear Your voice. Give us grace to remember that in those moments, You are closer to us than we are to ourselves, for You dwell not only around us, but in us, and call us to be one with You. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.