Do you believe the Holy Spirit speaks to you today?  We read that He spoke to His people in the book of Acts (8:29, 10:19, 13:2).  Is there any reason why He would stop speaking to us?  Jesus made the following statements in the upper room,

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.  (John 14:26)

But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.  (John 16:7)

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.  (John 16:13)

God is speaking to us but are we hearing Him?  Often times there is so much noise in our lives we cannot hear the Spirit of God.  Consider for example the prophet Elijah, he was experiencing an especially discouraging time in his life.  He had a tremendous victory at Mount Carmel but afterwards he was physically and emotionally drained and He felt alone – he desperately needed to hear from God.  Perhaps you’ve felt that way and you’re looking for God to break through in a dramatic way.  Look at the advice God gave to Elijah:

So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  (1 Kings 19:11-13)

We see that God was not in the dramatic events of the wind, the earthquake, or the fire – rather he was in the “gentle blowing”.  We look for God to break through in a powerful way not realizing He is there in the “gentle blowing”.  The word “gentle” conveys the idea of thin, fine, or small.  The word “blowing” in other occurrences in the Old Testament is translated “silence” or “still.”  We see in this verse is that God speaks to us in our silence.  When is the last time you had an opportunity to be still and hear His voice?

Bill Hybels in The Power of a Whisper gives some helpful guidelines to ensure that you’re hearing from the Holy Spirit.  Communication with others is important but it is absolutely essential that we and understand what God is saying to us. May your desire be the same as the prophet Samuel as he said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

O give me Samuel’s ear, the open ear, O Lord,
Alive and quick to hear each whisper of Thy Word,
Like him to answer at Thy call, and to obey Thee first of all. Amen.

(“Hushed Was the Evening” Hymn)

Take some time for solitude and silence this week and listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice in your life.  What is He saying to you?