Fast Like DanielSample

## Grace from Start to Finish Do you expect to hear God’s voice? Seriously, when you pray, do you wait for Him to answer? I’m just going to tell you point blank: you will not hear His answers if you don’t expect Him to speak or open your spiritual ears to listen. So many people think God doesn’t speak anymore, like He got laryngitis and just stopped speaking to people somewhere in the past. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Some have been taught this, while others just think it can’t happen for them —like maybe God speaks to big-time church leaders, but they’re a special exception. But does God speak to regular people like you and me? Yes! He does. He never changes, and He has never stopped speaking to His children. But we often have stopped listening ! Let me paint a picture for you. Let’s say I call my wife, LaKendria, and in one big breath I tell her all about my day, all this stuff I want her to know, my shopping list, my concerns about our two sons, and challenges going on with my business—and then immediately hang up. What kind of conversation was that? A good one? Definitely not—I’d hear about it later and probably get an “EXCUSE ME!” if that’s how I talked to my wife all the time! So why do we do this to God? In today’s reading, you’re going to see how incredibly patient God is with us as He teaches Elijah how to hear His voice. Elijah performed many mighty miracles for God, but beyond the shock and awe of gale force winds, an earthquake, and a firestorm, Elijah found that the sound of God’s voice was not a shout. It was a gentle whisper . If you’re not listening , you can easily miss a whisper. Are we listening? Or do we pick up the phone of prayer, call God, dump on Him, give Him our To Do List, and then hang up? I want you to finish this fast expecting to hear God’s gentle whisper . Jesus said His sheep—and that’s all of us —hear His voice. He has not grown silent, and you’ve never really prayed and fasted until you’ve done so with the hopeful expectation of hearing God speak back to you. He has a word for you today: “ Be still, and know that I am God ” (Psalm 46:10). Now, listen .