Heart in Tune: Prayerful Listening


People often understand prayer as a monologue.  It's an activity in which we speak to God, asking him for help.  But that's only part of prayer.  Prayer should be a dialogue between us and God.

We see a prayerful dialogue in a story about the prophet Elijah, recorded in 1 Kings 19:9b-18.  Jezebel threatened Elijah's life.  Naturally, Elijah fled.  When he arrived in the desert south of Beersheba, he lay down under a broom tree and prayed to die.  But God wasn't through with him.  After he slept a while, an angel woke him up.  He said the journey was too much for him, so he offered him fresh bread and water.  Elijah slept more, and took in more bread and water.

In the strength of that food, he traveled 40 days and nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.  When he got there, the Lord asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  

Elijah responded that he wanted to die because Jezebel and her associates had killed all the Lord's prophets, and he was the only one left.  Now, they were trying to kill him!  He felt like he was a complete failure.

The Lord told Elijah to stand on the mountain because he was about to pass by.  Elijah stayed inside a cave.  First came a wind so violent, it caused rocks to slide and break.  But the Lord wasn't in the wind.  Then came a violent earthquake. But the Lord wasn't in the earthquake.  Then came a fire, but the Lord wasn't in it either.  

Finally, Elijah heard the sound of a quiet stillness.  He walked to the mouth of the cave and covered his face, because God is too holy to look at.  In the quiet, Elijah heard the words, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Elijah gave his speech about how difficult his ministry had been.  But the Lord would have none of it.  Instead of accepting Elijah's resignation, he gave him new assignments!  Elijah returned to Israel and completed the mission God had for him.

This dialogue reminds us that part of prayer is listening for God's voice.  In prayer, we create time and space for God to speak to us.  One great way to do that is through meditating on the scriptures.  Try beginning your prayer time by reading a portion of scripture a number of times, while asking God to speak to you through it.  

God bless you as you dialogue with him!

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