As part of my morning prayer, I was reading a reflection by Joyce Meyer that made a very simple point, but one of which we need to be periodically reminded: God speaks to us all the time.
The reality is that our God is a self-communicating God. God desires communication with us and speaks to us continually, revealing God’s presence in various ways.
Our task is to recognize that God is speaking to us. What distinguishes those to whom we give the label “mystics” from the rest of us is not that they had a direct experience of God that is available only to a few. It is not that God chooses certain people to speak to and doesn’t speak to the rest of us. God speaks to all of us – incessantly. The mystics are not special because God spoke to them and not to us. What makes the mystics special is their openness to experiencing God and their recognition of God’s communication with them
And to be open to experience God, to be able to recognize God, requires prayer. Prayer is not about getting God’s attention. Rather, prayer helps us to be aware of God’s presence already here.
Too often we fill our prayer with our desires, with our agenda, without giving God a chance to speak to us. Our attitude must more and more reflect the words of Samuel: “Speak, God, your servant is listening.” And we need to listen, with our whole being, and to pause, to linger, to wait for God to speak to us.
Sometimes God reveals Godself to us in dramatic, almost visible ways, akin to the blinding lightening-like flash experienced by Saul/Paul. But more often, God seems to speak to us in the quiet whisperings of our heart. So we need to allow ourselves the quiet and stillness to hear God no matter how softly God speaks to us.
Creo en Dios! 