The Laughing Woodpecker

Monday 1 March to Sunday 7 March

With the rain beating down outside and graphite grey clouds hanging overhead it is difficult to imagine summer days sitting out in the sun.  I love to lie back in a reclining chair, feel the warmth of the sun and listen to the sounds of summer: a buzzing bee, the crackling flight of a dragonfly, the excited chatter of the birds as they flit from hedge to hedge, flight BA269 as it climbs out of Heathrow….. 

A few years back while we were sitting out in the garden a friend pointed out the distinctive laughing call of the Green Woodpecker from the woods behind our house*.  Now I know what it sounds like I hear it all the time and can easily separate it from all the other background noise.  Prior to my friend’s helpful revelation it was just an un-attributed part of the noise of summer.

For most people God’s voice is just part of the everyday background noise – the soundtrack of every day life.  But once we learn to recognise the voice of God we can hear it all the time and separate it out from the background din.

Before Jesus, God used prophets to speak his words to his people; these days He speaks to us direct.  Elijah was the major prophet in the Old Testament and he knew a thing or two about how God speaks.  Once when Elijah was hiding in a cave the Lord told him to go out and stand on the mountain as He himself was about to pass by.  There was a violent wind, followed by an earthquake and then fire, but Elijah didn’t move from his cave.  He had learnt to recognise the voice of God and he knew that God’s voice was not a big, booming, insistent voice, but a gentle whisper.  When he heard the whisper he went out and met with God.  The full story is in 1 Kings 19:9-13.

Incredibly, the huge, Almighty God speaks in a whisper (Job 4:12 and Job 26:14) which is sort of counter-intuitive and certainly not what Hollywood would have us believe.  So, to hear him we need to be still and quiet – which sort of brings us back to what we have been practicing over the last few days.

Once we have learnt to recognise the voice of God as the gentle whisper we will be able to hear it and pick it out from the other traffic that reaches our ears.  These days anyone can hear from God.  And, don’t tell anyone, it is relatively easy!  God made us so he could communicate with us – we just over complicate it.

* Check out this link to hear what a Green Woodpecker sounds like http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/greenwoodpecker/index.aspx

Exercise

During the first part of the time that you are being still and quiet with God continue just to be with God – not reading or praying, just being.  Then after a while invite Him to speak to you.

It is not often that people hear an audible voice, but you might hear an inaudible whisper.  God might speak to you by dropping a thought into your head - it wasn’t there before, but now there it is, a different thought.  You might have an impression of something or someone, or you might see a picture.

If you are unsure what it is that God is saying to you or showing you don’t be afraid to ask Him to show you more or enlarge on it a little.  If you are still unsure, share what you thought you heard or saw with a mature Christian friend.  Write down anything that you feel might be significant or need further work or action.

When you wake up in the morning, just as you start to come to, ask God to speak again.  The semi-awake state can be conducive to listening to God I find.

Bible Verses to Ponder

He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth – the LORD God Almighty is his name. – Amos 4:13

“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger's voice.” - John 10:3 -5

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” – Joel 2:28-28

Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? – Job 12:11

Prayer for the Second Week in Lent from the Church of England

Lord God Almighty, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow You, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Verse to Remember

For God does speak – now one way, now another – though man may not perceive it. – Job 33:14

Things to do

You could try being still and listening whenever you find yourself at a loose end this week.  I used to find the toilet at work a great place to be apart and quiet for a while!  If you travel in the car you might turn the radio off and try listening to God.  Maybe turn the computer off at lunchtime and rather than surfing or checking personal email spend the time with God. 

This week why not go for a short walk out in the country.  As you walk along see if you can hear the whisper of God.  Or maybe there are spiritual parables in nature that you have not seen before.  – “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20

I have a friend who says that our time devoted to God should be a minute every hour, an hour every day, a day every month and a week every year.  I am not sure it is possible to keep pace with this advice, but it does contain wisdom.  Try and take a day out during lent to spend with God.  Get away from all distractions like the computer, mobile phone, TV.  Take with you a book, a Bible, some paper, a pen and a desire to get in step with God.