Speak to me, God

One of the great frustrations in my attempt to follow Jesus over the past 16 years has been my inability (unwillingness? lack of discipline?) to hear God's voice and direction. I can look back over my life and see how God was guiding me, but when it comes to discerning His will in current decisions, I find myself taking stabs in the dark like a man who has lost some of his senses:

I have become like a man who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.

I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.

It's that last part that I have trouble with. When David wrote that in the 38th Psalm, he knew God would answer; I sometimes wonder.

I've found myself voicing that frustration several times recently, and then this morning I found a devotion by Philip Yancey speaking of this very issue:

When Elijah stood before the Lord on Mount Horeb, he didn’t meet Him in the wind, earthquake, or fire. Rather, God spoke in a “still small voice” [the NIV calls it "a gentle whisper"].

I’m more convinced than ever that God finds ways to communicate to those who truly seek Him—especially when we lower the volume of the surrounding static.

God, help me turn down the noise and hear you.