“The importance of hearing God’s voice – speaking to you!”

June 2021

For over 20 years I have regularly engaged in sessions of spiritual direction.  My current spiritual director is a Benedictine sister whom I have met with for over a decade.  When I was an active diocesan bishop this was part of my monthly regime.  It was important to help keep me grounded – and sometimes just to keep me sane!  Since retiring, I still regularly participate in spiritual direction, though slightly less frequently.

In my most recent session at the beginning of June, I did not go with any particular agenda in mind.  We had good conversations about several things affecting our everyday lives – part-time work, transitions in living arrangements and especially the impact of what seem to be ever-tightening and never-ending public health restrictions.  I spoke about my realization of the necessity of the restrictions but also about my weariness and frustration at not seeing the end in sight, and having to witness the negative impact of our absence from extended-family members as a result.

At the conclusion of our session, my spiritual director suggested that she read a short piece entitled “Creature of God “ (by Jessica Powers) as our closing prayer.  I closed my eyes, and as I heard her read, many of the words and phrases sunk deeply into my soul.  It was definitely her voice that I heard doing the reading, but at the same time there was a strong sense of God speaking directly to me through those words.  I felt burdens lightening and a more relaxed peace and calm gradually come over me. 

As I walked out of the session toward my vehicle, I realized just how little opportunity I, and I think many others, afford God to speak personally to us.  The words had the therapeutic impact they did because I was open and receptive to being spoken to by God.  And this incident made me realize just how much I was missing this direct communication to me from God.

For many of us, prayer is primarily reaching out to God with the cares and concerns of our lives.  It is not that these are selfish requests.  Most often, they are expressions of concern for our world, our country and our community.  And they usually also include our desire to see the healing needs in the lives of people we care about met by God’s grace.  Those of us who have adopted more rigorous and regular disciplines of prayer probably include scripture readings and expressions of praise and thanksgiving to God.  And all of these are good and beneficial.

But I realized that part of what gave my experience the power and impact that it had, was the fact that I was listening to another human being speaking words of comfort and strength to me.  I don’t think it would have had near the same effect if I had merely read the words silently to myself.  I had to hear them being addressed to me from somewhere outside of myself.

And that got me thinking.  How often do these kinds of opportunities “to be spoken to” present themselves?  How often do we look for and open ourselves to these words of grace from beyond ourselves?  And then, obviously, how often do we offer to be these kind of “mouthpieces” for others?  It is not that the words being read had to be from Scripture – though sometimes that might be the case.  What mattered is that they were words of truth and love offered to me as a gift of grace.  And, thankfully, I was in a setting where I was open and prepared to receive them.

I think we all need to be much more conscious of God’s desire to speak – to us and through us.  And we need always to be ready to listen and to speak.  This, I believe, is God’s loving will for us all.