Silence and Listening

As with personal prayer, silence and listening are the starting points for spiritual leadership. This is true because without listening for God, we are leading only from ourselves, from our own minds and our own ideas. And the only way to listen for God is to be willing to enter into the silence of prayer, the stillness of doing nothing.
--Daniel Wolpert, Leading a Life with God

Voice Recognition

Amidst the chaos and moral confusion, God raised up a new generation, mentored by Eli, who learned to distinguish God’s voice among the myriad of competing voices. A very unlikely young person learned “voice recognition” long before the technology was ever invented. The boy Samuel spent time in God’s house and quieted his soul enough to hear God calling in the night. Spirit Leaders are people trained to listen and distinguish the Word amidst the words of culture.
--Gary Straub & Judy Turner, Your Calling as a Leader

How much time do you spend quieting your soul so you can distinguish the Lord’s voice from all others? Most people think that sitting quietly is a waste of time when we could be doing ministry.

Years ago one of my sons asked me how I distinguished the voice of God from the ramblings of my own mind. I said “Time and experience. I have spent a lot of time listening to God and a lot of time rambling around in my own mind and I’m getting pretty good at telling the difference.” When I like Samuel was too inexperienced to recognize God’s voice, I leaned on the Eli’s around me to help me discern God’s voice.

If we have not spent the time in quiet listening to hear God’s voice, then whose voice are we listening to as we do ministry?

The Power of Intimacy with God

I hope you read and meditate on John 14:8-14; 17:18-23. These verses really capture a glimpse of the large view of the Christian life. We have the potential for developing an intimate relationship with God like the one Jesus had. In 17:21 Jesus prays for that very thing, “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us.” It is out of this connection and unity with God, that real power for prayer and ministry come. If you are working hard at being a Christian, you are doing it wrong. Jesus didn’t work on his own either. Listen to his words in John 14:10, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”

Anyone can be a superficial Christian in their own strength. It is even possible to be a work-a-holic “super-Christian”, burning ourselves out in self-righteous glory, in our own strength. But to be a healthy, empowered Christian requires listening, slowing down, more listening, opening ourselves to a deeper relationship with God, still more listening, and allowing God to do God’s thing in and through us. It’s not as easy as it sounds since most of us want to be in control our own lives. This is important for all Christians, but crucial for leaders.