When God Whispers

Proverbs 22:17 — Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge.

There are few things that test your patience like someone’s quirks. I have a friend who is just plain loud. And I do not mean “occasionally raises their voice” loud. I mean loud like a kitchen blender with no lid. Loud at breakfast, loud at lunch, loud even after the coffee wears off.

I will admit, I used to get aggravated. Sure, I knew my friend was a little hard of hearing, but (let’s be honest) I think the volume made them feel important. How hard could it be to use your inside voice?

Over time, I realized I was not proud of my attitude. And the truth hit me: in some ways, I do the exact same thing. We all want to feel noticed. We all want to matter. Nobody likes feeling invisible.

But that’s not really where I am going with this.

Later on, I was scrolling on my phone, and a caption struck me like lightning. It said, “If you really want to get someone’s attention, whisper.”

And it made me think about God. He could shout over every voice in the world if He wanted to. But more often than not, He whispers. He does not push His way into my attention span. He waits for me to draw near and talks to me in a still small voice.

I thought about how a whisper cuts through the noise, how it pulls you closer and forces you to focus. A whisper is not something you can half-hear. It demands attention.

That thought changed things for me. It made me want to change my own communication habits. What’s more, it made me want to start leaning in more—really listening— to God and to people.

Changing that one thing really helped me treat my friend better. I still hear her, but I have learned to wait for the pauses. The spaces in between. Past the quirks. In the silence. That is where you can hear what people are really saying.

It also helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus.

So, if I can give you one piece of advice today, focus on the best part. Listen to the whispers.