THE VOICE OF GOD

by Pastor Emeritus Peter Geisendorfer-Lindgren peter@lordoflife.org

Be still and know that I am God. —Psalm 46:10

At Bethany Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis, the church where I grew up, the above words were printed over the double doors that led into the church sanctuary. As a nine-year-old going to worship, I took those words as a warning to not even think about fidgeting for the next hour.

I have learned over the years, especially through the work I have done with Pastor Karen Wight Hoogheem and our contemplative community here at Lord of Life, that those words are not a warning but an invitation.

As Christians, we usually focus on what God wants us to do. But in this verse, God points out that sometimes nothing is the right thing to do. We are invited to be still. And in the stillness, God comes.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

—I Samuel 3:9-10

Samuel eventually figured out the importance of being still and listening. It has taken me a long time to get there. Over the years, I have done much more talking to God than listening to God. We know that communication only happens when there is speaking and listening, but my prayer life has consisted of me doing the bulk of the talking.

Journalist Dan Rather once asked Mother Teresa what she said during her prayers. She answered, “I listen.” So Rather turned the question and asked, “Well then, what does God say?” Mother Teresa smiled with confidence and answered, “He listens.” For an instant, Rather didn’t know what to say. “And if you don’t understand that,” Mother Teresa added, “I can’t explain it to you.”

That’s a little snarky, but there is a great power when we are quiet in the presence of God.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. —John 10:3-4

In these verses, Jesus talks about a shepherd whose sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. In Biblical times many different herds of sheep would often be penned in one area. When a shepherd would come and call his sheep, the ears of the sheep were so finely tuned that they would only follow the voice of their shepherd.

Jesus is our shepherd. But it can be challenging for us to recognize God’s voice. There are so many distractions, so many competing voices. It is difficult for us to filter out the noise and hear what God is saying. It takes practice.

I encourage you to join me for this year’s iteration of Lord of Life’s Contemplative Community for Spiritual Transformation. We begin on Saturday, September 16, and meet on the third Saturday of each month through May. It is an opportunity to learn how to be still, how to listen, and how to recognize the voice of God in your life.