The God Who Wants to Be Heard

Jesus Christ is the Eternal Word.  He, and He alone, is the source of new life to you.For you to have new life, he must be communicated to you.  (Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, Jeanne Guyon, Chapter 14 Silence.)

Here I see a strong basis for practicing silence before God.  I have not really thought about this particular significance of Jesus being called the Word in John 1.  Perhaps above all things, Jesus needs to be heard to be received.

Hearing has a strong place in the Bible.  The creation is spoken into existence.  Could it be that such communication from God was meant most of all to be heard?  Psalm 19 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God!"

The Shema of Israel begins with "Hear, O Israel!"  The word is also translated "obey."  Is it possible we find ourselves trying to obey without first hearing?  Perhaps this is what Jesus was driving at when he said, "Why do you call me 'Lord,' and do not do what I command?"  Perhaps the first command is listening more than professing.

If we are to be saved by the Word made flesh, it may be the first thing we need is a listening ear.  If we are going to hear him, we may need enough silence to do so.  Perhaps regeneration or new life comes through silence before God.  In order to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts in the Word, we need to be able to hear him first, even if only faintly.

SILENCE THAT HEARS

Here is how to acquire this habit of silence.  First of all, forget yourself.

 Perhaps I will lose some people at this point.  The idea that any person could actually do anything to effect or further their own salvation is unthinkable to some people.  If it is the idea that silence itself has such an effect, I would agree wholeheartedly.  But to say that God will deliver us apart from our cooperation is to deny the one who calls out, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

Silence that hears is first a form of self-denial.  It is not a form of self-abuse!  It is laying aside the voice that chatters incessantly about me.  It begins when my attention shifts.  That shift must first be away from myself if I am to truly hear.

This is not surprising.  Any person who has practiced silence for the sake of careful listening knows that one of the greatest barriers to hearing is planning a reply even as someone is speaking to you.  With this kind of anticipation is the judgment that you already understand what the person is saying before they have said it.  Not only does this leave out important details and information, it signals to the person that you do not really care what they are saying, only what you will be replying.

Perhaps this is how we are with God.  Silence can help us to escape our tendency to answer God before we know what he is saying.  Perhaps we may find ourselves able to hear him out instead of putting words into his mouth.

WAIT ON GOD

Second, listen attentively to God.

This is the other side of the coin of listening.  I do not stop by merely forgetting myself.  I must continue on into attention to God.  We are given this assurance: "Wait upon the Lord and he will renew your strength."  Within the attentiveness to God is the grace he gives for us to hear him.  Sometimes it is in the raw sense of his presence.  Sometimes it is in a special circumstance that reassures us of his care.  Others have been assured through visions, dreams, and angels.  His strength will come to us.

When we can forget ourselves for a while, we find he is not far from us.  What keeps God distant is our continuous plague of self-absorption.  It is not enough to remove attention from ourselves, though.  We must wait on God.

The mind is a slippery thing.  You think you have a hold on it and it slides away into another stream of thoughts and anxieties.  The streams of the mind are formed, like trenches dug and used.  If the prevailing stream is of what I want, the mind continually slips down that trench.  The good news is that this stream is not very deep or strong.  There are much greater torrents that can capture the mind.

THE GOD I WANT TO HEAR

This is one of the ways the Bible can help us.  It is a great torrent of grace for the tranformation of the mind.  It blocks fruitless thoughts and pours out new springs of thought and hope.  Through reading, study, and praying the Bible I find myself in awe of God.  Often awe is accompanied by profound silence.

At the heart of silence is a God who wants to be heard and a God whom I want to hear.  Without this knowledge firmly planted in my belief, silence will only be a strain and an exercise rather than a doorway to a life-giving, deeply loving relationship.  Without this knowledge the Eternal Word will remain a nice idea rather than the source of life.

God's Word Brings Faith By Quieting the Mind

Devotional Classics, Madame Guyon, Excerpts from Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

In coming to the Lord by means of "praying the Scripture," you do not read quickly; you read very slowly.  You do not move from one passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read.  You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.

Of course, there is a kind of reading the Scripture for scholarship and for study - but not here.  That studious kind of reading will not help you when it comes to matters that are divine!  To receive any deep, inward profit from the Scripture you read until revelation, like a sweet aroma, breaks out upon you.

In "beholding the Lord" you come to the Lord in a totally different way.  Perhaps at this point I need to share with you the greatest difficulty you will have in waiting upon the Lord.  It has to do with your mind.  The mind has a very strong tendency to stray away from the Lord.  Therefore, as you come before the Lord to sit in his presence, beholding him, make use of the Scripture to quiet your mind.

The way you do this is really quite simple.  First, read a passage of Scripture.  Once you sense the Lord's presence, the content of what you have read is no longer important.  The Scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to him.

Turn your heart to the presence of God.  How is this done?  This, too, is quite simple.  You turn to him by faith.  By faith you believe you have come into the presence of God.

Now, waiting before him, turn all your attention towrd your spirit.  Do not allow your mind to wander.  If your mind begins to wander, just turn your attention back again to the inward parts of your being. . . .  The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where he dwells.  The Lord once promised to come and make his home within you (John 14:23)

Oh, it is not that you will think about what you ahve read, but you will feed upon what you have read.  Out of love for the Lord you exert your will to hold your mind quiet before him.  When you have come to this state, you must allow your mind to rest.

In this peaceful state, swallow what you have tasted.  At first this may seem difficult, but perhaps I can show you a simple way.  Have you not, at times, enjoyed the flavor of a very tasty food?  But unless you were willing to swallow the food, you received no nourishment.  It is the same with your soul.  In this quiet, peaceful, and simple state simply take in what is there as nourishment.

For a long time I have sought to "practice the presence of Christ," as Brother Lawrence puts it, and have found myself more burdened than blessed.  It seems so strenuous and somewhat confusing.  My mind wanders because of a desire to "scheme" my way through life when I seek to stay with God throughout a day.  However, my mind also wanders because of confusion.  What am I supposed to think?  What am I supposed to be doing?

I have moved mostly toward regular times with God rather than "constant prayer."  I recharge throughout the day.  Still, even this can prove taxing.  Some days are better than others.  More often than not, though, I am flapping like a chicken rather than soaring like an eagle.  God meets me graciously and instructs, helps, and guides me.  But I want to know if this "constant prayer" is more than just a fantasy.

Through Madame Guyon's discussion of "beholding the Lord," I have come to understand more of what this "practicing the presence" is.  I have long recognized certain feeling associated with God's presence.  The feelings aren't always the same, but there is similarity to them.  Really the feelings are not so much God himself, but my attitude toward God when I am receptive to his presence.

This feeling has always been somewhat nebulous to me.  I didn't know what it was exactly or how it helped me.  Without knowing, I felt confused.  When confused, my mind wandered more.  So what has helped me is Madame Guyon's simple instruction to enter the "beholding of the Lord" through faith.

I find the word trust more helpful.  Trusting is not so much a feeling, but there is a certain kind of feeling that often accompanies it.  Also, her suggestions about resting my mind fit well with this trust.  In order to trust, often I must let go of certain thoughts and desires.  I must be open to God and therefore I must be closed to certain thoughts and desires.  The Scripture opens my mind to God and closes it to living life without him.

Trust and confidence are really actions of the will and heart more than the mind.  Although thoughts and feelings in the mind may accompany or facilitate trust, such confidence comes from the intention and action.  Trusting God involves a lot of waiting on him and resting in him.  Trust never involves hurry or frantic behavior, even if it does include quick action at times.  This faith is a readiness to do certain things.

A.W. Tozer speaks of faith as the "gazing soul on the saving God."  This lines up with Madame Guyon's "beholding the Lord."  It makes me realize that the command "Pray without ceasing" is really the same as "Do all things with faith."  Also I see that the reason faith is opposed to sight is that it is sight in itself.  Faith opposed temporal or physical sight.  This is analogous to a comment from C.S. Lewis Christianity and education: "Christianity does not require education because it is an education."  Faith is sight.

Such trust is possible on all occasions.  What I needed was recognition of that continuing faith followed by practice.  God opening my eyes to the experience of faith has made it easier to remain with him in faith.  Madame Guyon's admonition to look inward for me is not morbid self-absorption, but a reminder to attend to my trust in God and let go of the things that worry and obsess my mind.  The Scripture quiets the mind by refocusing my mind on God's goodness and love and encouraging my heart (will) to trust God.  Trust is the natural reaction to love.

This is how God's word goes out and brings people to him.  When people come to hear and realize the goodness and love of God, they are drawn into faith, trusting him.  This is not a one-time action, but a continual work of letting go of the things that seem so important to grasp the things that are important.  God's word, used honestly, brings faith.

Lord, may I be immersed in your word, so that my mind may be at rest and my heart full of trust.  Amen.


Now I feel I have grounds to practice this "prayer of the heart."  It is faith from "first to last."  People like Madame Guyon have explained and demonstrated this faith in practical terms.  The Bible is full of such descriptions.  Much of Jesus' teaching might be seen as a description of this faith and its outcome in God's kingdom and in this world.  I want to test this against the Scriptures.