Expectant Waiting

My friend, Nancy, mentioned in her comment on Tuesday "being still and listening."  That is basically what this post is about.



 That is what I did for years that I have let fall by the wayside as of late.  I read a book some years ago --(Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ) by Jeanne Guyon-- that totally transformed my devotional life which ultimately transformed my life.

The Holy Spirit, through Guyon, taught me how to turn my thoughts inward, not outward, to get away from all distractions-- to close all devotional materials and just concentrate on communing with God who LIVES INSIDE ME.  (I'm not knocking good devotional materials--they just shouldn't take the place of intimate waiting and listening before God--at least that is my humble opinion)

When we stop to really ponder that He lives inside us, it is almost more than our finite minds can fathom but it is true.  God lives inside of us if we have asked Him to come in and be our Savior.

So instead of turning my thoughts outward or heavenward so to speak, I turn them in to my core, my heart, my mind, my will which I have given over to Jesus--it is His domain--He lives in me--so ultimately I am turning my thoughts to Him.

This is a discipline at first--the enemy loves to bring to mind any distraction that he can--what to cook for dinner, what color I am going to paint the kitchen cabinets, you name it--anything to get our minds away from concentrating on God and His love for us.

After a concentrated effort day after day, this discipline became second nature to me and I could sit down, read God's Word, pray, STOP AND BE STILL AND LISTEN, and it was amazing what thoughts He brought to my mind.  
This was not a two or three minute conversation with God most of the time.  I hesitate to say because I don't want to exaggerate, but I would guess that sometimes I was totally still before Him--not praying, not asking for anything, not reading--totally utterly still while disciplining my mind to only concentrate on Him, for at least 15 to 30 minutes. 
I am not putting a time constraint on God because the more I became tuned in to Him, and could control my wild thoughts, the quicker I could hear His voice and what He wanted to say to me.  (Not an audible voice but a still, small whisper in my mind)
So I am sure at times it was much less than 15 minutes and maybe at times more than 30.

Yes, I do believe we should obey what we hear Him say to us if instructions are given.  However, it seemed to me when I was practicing this regularly that more often than not the words I heard were life-giving, life-affirming, scripture straight from His Word to encourage, and also that is when I wrote my best poetry or prose.  As one of my daughters-in-law told me one time--"You really can't take credit for that."  And I couldn't.  It was straight from the heart of God.
I did not write as He was speaking but as soon as I knew He was pausing or giving me a break, I wrote with wild abandon all the Words I could remember that He said to me.

And most of the time, I could remember almost all because His Word heard so plainly is hard to forget--and it does NOT return VOID.
Am I special to be able to hear God's voice like this?  No, well, yes, I am special to Him just as you are.  He is no respecter of persons.  He desires to be intimate with each of us and yearns to disclose Himself to us.
The LORD confides in those who fear him;
   he makes his covenant known to them. Psalm 25:14

So back to the basics of waiting on Him which should be my highest privilege to do, I will:
1.  Be aware of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin and repenting immediately.
2.  Read 5 Psalms a day, every day--
3.  Wait on the Lord with patient expectation, a clear mind and a surrendered heart, mind, and will.

I am anxiously waiting to hear from Him if there is anything else He wants me to do. 
I would love to hear your suggestions or how He has impressed you to worship Him. 
Andrew Murray also has a wonderful book about waiting on God which has been very instrumental in my life.  That's for another day!  Smile.  Love all of you,Dianne
© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted