April 2016
“The voice of the Lord is like a whisper at times. That’s why being still is important to prophecy.”
”Prayer is about finding out what God wants to do and then asking Him to do it.” –Graham Cooke
Learning to hear the voice of God is one of those areas that provides the most challenge and the most joy. Times when His voice is loud and clear help us bask in the wisdom and direction He provides. But, just like Elijah discovered, His voice is often still and quiet. Most of us do not doubt that God speaks, but we sometimes doubt in our ability to hear Him. Learning to overcome this mindset is part of our Intel journey.
Intel is an iron that sharpens the sword of our listening skills. As we continue to place ourselves in a position of hearing His voice for various communities and for Graham, we open our hearts for something beyond ourselves. Often this feels like a stretch, and it is, at first. As we continue to step into this place of listening and then, recording what we understand, our hearing sharpens.
We begin to understand more details. We learn to ask more questions to expand on the information we are hearing. As we grow, we gain more trust in recognizing the voice of God. Then, we move into a place of hearing the laughter, joy, strength, warrior qualities, etc. of His voice. We learn to recognize the nuances that come through His conversations with us. Intel is a vehicle for practicing our conversation skills. But, those skills are not limited to Intel alone. What we learn in that place of stretching and growth opens our hearts to hear the nuances of His voice in all areas of our lives.
Below are some quotes from past Intel Development Trainings about sharpening our listening skills.
“In the dream module, I did not get anything. I had a few thoughts I shared and [I realized] sometimes we are learning to hear God in a new way, and when it seems we have nothing, it’s just in a different form than what we are used to.” –Deanne Cline
“I love meeting with the Lord, hearing His heart, being amazed with what He says and “how” He desires for something to be done. It is fun to translate His building blue print.” –Karleigh Wood
“I’m taking away a sense of awe. I know I have read how we each get a piece of the puzzle, but….I just didn’t get it. No piece is too small. No whisper is unimportant. If God is speaking, I want to hear every nuance of His beautiful voice. That perspective will change every aspect of my life.” –Lisa Smidt
