1 Kings 19:12 - Are you listening for God's voice today?

1 Ki 19:12 Are you listening for God's voice today?

1 Ki 19:12 (KJV) And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD
was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

There Elijah understood that the kingdom of God was hidden and
easily missed, like God's still, small voice. However, the kingdom was
potent and fully under God's sovereign plan. That idea of the hidden
and powerful nature of the kingdom was taken up again in the
parables of Jesus (Matt. 13) and in his role as the humiliated Son of
Man.. [New Bible Companion]

The Lord calls us to silence and inactivity if we want to know
Him intimately. If it were not necessary, He would not admonish us
to do it. The language is so simple and direct and yet we continue
to rattle off non-stop chatter as we rush along the fast-track
going our own way!  Why do we do that? It takes self discipline and
the help of the Holy Spirit to be silent.  Even if we close our
mouths, our minds race from one thing to another:  the unexpected
meetings; the unending errands; the unwritten letters; and the unreturned
phone calls. When is the last time you set aside everything else to be
still before God?  If you sincerely want to know Him intimately, you
will schedule some time soon!  How about today?  [In His Time; Walk
With Wisdom]

We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every
other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the
silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us,
"Be still, and know that I am God." Here alone can true rest be
found.  And this is the effectual preparation for all labor for God.
DA363

Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the
blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste. With
hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ's loving presence,
pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting
for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher.
With their burdens they return to their work.
These workers can never attain the highest success until they
learn the secret of strength. They must give themselves time to think,
to pray, to wait upon God for a renewal of physical, mental, and
spiritual power. They need the uplifting influence of His Spirit.
Receiving this, they will be quickened by fresh life. The wearied frame
and tired brain will be refreshed, the burdened heart will be
lightened.  ED260,1

Elijah knew that the sound of the gentle whisper was God's
voice. He realized that God doesn't reveal himself only in powerful,
miraculous ways. To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches,
conferences, highly visible leaders) may be to miss him, because he is often
found gently whispering in the quietness of a humbled heart. Are you
listening for God? Step back from the noise and activity of your busy
life, and listen humbly and quietly for his guidance. It may come when
you least expect it.[Life Application SB]

A woman who had made rapid progress in her understanding of the
Lord was once asked the secret of her seemingly easy growth. Her
brief response was, "Mind the checks. "
The reason many of us do not know and understand God better is
that we do not heed His gentle "checks"--His delicate restraints and
constraints. His voice is "a gentle whisper." A whisper can hardly be heard,
so it must be felt as a faint and steady pressure upon the heart
and mind, like the touch of a morning breeze calmly moving across
the soul. And when it is heeded, it quietly grows clearer in the
inner ear of the heart.
God's voice is directed to the ear of love, and true love is
intent upon hearing even the faintest whisper. Yet there comes a time
when His love ceases to speak, when we do not respond to or believe
His message. "God is love" (1 John 4:8), and if you want to know Him
and His voice, you must continually listen to His gentle touches.
So when you are about to say something in conversation with
others, and you sense a gentle restraint from His quiet whisper, heed
the restraint and refrain from speaking. And when you are about to
pursue some course of action that seems perfectly clear and right, yet
you sense in your spirit another path being suggested with the force
of quiet conviction, heed that conviction. Follow the alternate
course, even if the change of plans appears to be absolute folly from
the perspective of human wisdom.
Also learn to wait on God until He unfolds His will before you.
Allow Him to develop all the plans of your heart and mind, and then
let Him accomplish them. Do not possess any wisdom of your own, for
often His performance will appear to contradict the plan He gave you.
God will seem to work against Himself, so simply listen, obey, and
trust Him, even when it appears to be the greatest absurdity to do so.
Ultimately, "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love him" (Rom. 8:28), but many times, in the initial stages of the
performance of His plans:
In His own world He is content
To play a losing game.
Therefore if you desire to know God's voice, never consider the
final outcome or the possible results. Obey Him even when He asks you
to move while you still see only darkness, for He Himself will be a
glorious light within you. Then there will quickly spring up within your
heart a knowledge of God and a fellowship with Him, which will be
overpowering enough in themselves to hold you and Him together, even in the
most severe tests and under the strongest pressures of life. from Way
of Faith [Streams In The Desert By Cowman]

Psa 46:10 (KJV)  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be
exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.