Ask

Those who seek to speak with God need only to open their mouths. Many imagine God as an impersonal tyrant, far off on a throne with little care for the personal lives of man. This God is expected to be hard to get the attention of. Many imagine that He rarely, if ever, looks their way. They also expect Him to speak as though over a megaphone, loud and powerful, with a simple dialectic explanation for our queries.

Look at the story of the great prophet, Elijah, in the book of 1st Kings, chapter 19, we can see how God truly reveals himself, and looking oat ourselves we can see why.

Elijah was hiding in a cave, from Jezebel, the queen who was seeking to kill him. Just days before he had called down fire from Heaven, and had done away with the prophets of Baal. Yet, we see him wondering what God can do. He feels alone, that He is the only one left who serves God, and God tells him that He will show Himself to him. God sends an earthquake, a fire, and a great wind, but He was not in any of these. Then Elijah hears a gentle whisper, and God was in the whisper.

God can do all the miraculous wonders in the universe, and He does, but if we don't have faith in Him and His ability, they won't mean anything to us. We can call down fire from Heaven one day, and the next say that the case is hopeless. We don't need fire from heaven as an answer from God, we need His very intimate presence. So we need to listen for that gentle whisper.

What is it we are expecting of God? In truth, what most of us are expecting is less than that which God offers. Most want God to show some great miraculous sign, as if fire falling from the sky will suddenly prove to us that God is real and present. We want to be told a straight answer, as if this knowledge will help us understand any further. God, rather, wants us to understand. He wants us to experience Him personally . God will speak to us. Are we listening, or are we waiting for a sign that we know won't convince us? Do we expect God to simply answer us? To teach us? To hear us? The truth is available if we have the faith to see it. This is my reality.

The weary do not seek strength, and yet they tire of being weary.
The lonely do not converse, and yet they complain of being alone.
The confused do not ask, and yet they wonder at not understanding.

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." (Christ Jesus, the Gospel according to John, ch.16 c.24 NIV)