A Personal Story

Thirty-nine years ago, at the age of 35, I was struggling with a severe personal trauma for the first time in my adult Christian journey.

At exactly the same time, I couldn’t ‘find’ the God I knew so well and on whom I’d always been able to rely so much since childhood.

A double-whammy, if ever there was one!

What I did know, however, was that I needed to spend some quiet time with the Lord away from my regular responsibilities.

To do this, I went to a monastery where, the year before, completely unexpectedly, I’d gotten to know the sister in charge of the telephone switchboard.

I knew that in the silence of this monastery I would have the best possible chance of ‘finding’ the God who continued to elude me. 

I would soon learn that the reverse was/is also true. In this silence, the Lord would also have the best possible chance of finding me! 

My new spiritual guide at the monastery soon introduced me to another particular form of silence —a silence that was/is even deeper and even more fruitful.

In this silence, I would be able to open up myself far more fully to the Lord’s presence and to His healing love and rest that always accompanies His presence.

This silence required that I stopped doing all the talking in my times spent with the Lord.

As a result, I could listen to the Lord.

I was taught to do this by deliberately letting go of all the usual words and thoughts that I (like most of us) had been made to believe are essential to all forms of prayer.

This way of silent, ‘non-talking’ prayer is often known as prayer of the heart. 

Learning to let go of words and thoughts gradually opened up a space inside me where the Lord could penetrate right through the several barriers to hearing Him speak that I, like all of us, had unconsciously erected over many years.

Here’s what I need you to grasp:

When this space opened up inside me, several specific things happened:

• I could FEEL the Lord’s love for me, not just in a general way, but for me, Jan, specifically

• I developed more and more trust in Him

• I became convinced that He wanted to be my friend 

• I wanted to be His friend

• I began to understand that He wanted only the BEST things in life for me 

• I gained the confidence that enabled me to hear Him speaking directly to me —not to someone else, to ME!

• I wanted to talk to Him and ask Him questions 

• I gained the confidence to EXPECT Him to answer my questions in His way and time

Each one of these was a ‘first’ for me.

Yes, I had always known at some level that the Lord loved me.

And I had always known at some level that I loved Him.

But I had grown up mostly with the kind of prayer in which the person ‘praying’ did most, if not ALL, of the talking!

I didn’t know about the kind of prayer in which you stopped talking so that you could open yourself more FULLY to the Lord’s presence and actually listen to Him.

When you create a space inside you, the Lord starts to dismantle the barriers to hearing Him speak that you and all of us have quite unconsciously erected since childhood.

You can then begin to hear the Lord speaking to you, firsthand, one-on-one, directly, without filters —regardless of what life experience (joyful or traumatic) you might be facing at the moment. 

This happens not just during the time of heart prayer but outside it: for example, when you are

• washing the dishes
• driving to work
• reflecting on the scriptures
• talking on the phone
• preparing for a business meeting
• listening to music
• playing with your kids or grandkids

 etc. etc.

You see, during your time of heart prayer, you fine-tune your spiritual antennae.

As a result, when you return to your normal everyday duties, you’re in a far better position to hear God speaking to you clearly and directly.

The Lord Longs to Speak to YOU…

Not to Somebody Else!

Please take my word for it …

God has no favourite children. Hearing the Lord speak to you can be your experience just as much, and even more, as it has been and is mine.

You’ll experience huge joy and peace when you start to understand that you and God can talk to each other like fast friends.

And here’s the other thing:

The Lord makes sure that His conversation with you is always tailor-made to the person you are and to your needs of the moment!

God never, ever uses a ‘one-size-fits-all’ way of relating to you.

As far as God is concerned, you are unique.

No one else will ever have the same conversation that you and the Lord will have during your time on earth!                    

God Usually Speaks Very Quietly