by Cara McLauchlan
God speaks to us all the time, but we’re often too busy or distracted to hear His voice. Like birdwatching, which requires patience, quiet, and stillness, listening to our heavenly Father is not something we can rush or force. But if we take the time to slow down and wait for Him to speak, we may find we hear the voice of God a lot more than we expect to.
A silent longing cloaked my heart. I knew something was missing in my relationship with God. I was doing all the ‘right’ things—praying, reading my Bible, and attending church—but still I felt dissatisfied. My faith felt stale and lacked the freshness of the vibrant relationship I once knew. I sensed a soul-stirring hunger to go deeper with God, yet was lost on how to do it. With a heart full of desire, I began to start actively listening for His voice in the only practical way I knew—birdwatching.
Birdwatching was a fun summer pastime our family treasured. We would fill the bird feeder, gather bird guides and binoculars, and then wait. Sometimes we would wait in a secluded spot outdoors, other times from a window perch. As my son aged up in years, he eventually opted out. Yet for me, it became a calming meditation to settle into my environment, notice the beauty, and relax into the rhythm of nature.
In the beginning days of birdwatching, I saw nothing; heard nothing. All I could focus on was the mental chatter in my head. My to-do list wouldn’t stop as I considered the mountain of tasks I had yet to complete. I would run through all the reasons why it was pointless to sit here as I was simply wasting my time.
Then, as my breathing slowed and I surrendered to the moment, I heard the sweet chirps serenading me with beauty. I heard the vibrant staccato of the Cardinal, the tweetsie sounds of the Tufted Titmouse, and the friendly “dee-dee-dee” of the Chickadees. When I finally settled down and quieted my soul, I noticed the diversity of lovely melodies. In fact, there was a full bird symphony, practically a riot of sounds happening in my own backyard. I only needed to be still enough to hear it.
Experience has taught me the only way to get better at birdwatching is to actually do more birdwatching. Similarly, if I wanted to hear more from God, I needed to position myself to actually hear Him. This meant I needed to spend time simply hanging out with Christ—just me and Jesus time with no expectations, no demands, and no requirements. Simply sitting still with God and letting it be about whatever He wanted it to be. Inspired by this idea, I began to practice listening for God’s voice in a more intentional way.
GET AWAY WITH GOD
“Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by” (Isaiah 26:20).
Before I became intentional about listening for God, I attempted to pray and listen anywhere. While this was practical, I found I was distracted or got sidetracked easily. For me to clearly hear Him, I needed to be somewhere I could literally and figuratively shut out all things—light, sound, and other humans. So, I headed to my closet and lay down. I covered up with a cozy blanket and rested. I found this renewing practice the best way to set myself up for dedicated God-listening time.
Thank you so much for your message🤗💕 I believe this is Gods way of reaching out to me this morning reminding me that he is always there And that I’m never alone🙏 I thank God for his everyday Blessings and unconditional Love🙏♥️
This inspired me to try to keep
trying to thru this time of illness
Thank you
What a wonderful message… “Be still and know” "… such a busy and distracting world we live in, but just look around when things are moving fast…I thank Him all day, every day. God bless and
My dad died this past Friday. This morning I woke up looked out the window and a cardinal was on my back deck. My dad was too sick to see the finished deck and the cardinal appeared this morning. God speaks 🙏
This message landed right where I am…a Christian who reads her bible, prays, and goes to church. As a recent widow I have felt a “hollowness” in my soul and recognize that it cannot be filled by another human nor any type of activity. Living right on a busy US highway, it’s difficult to hear much of anything except traffic. I do love to listen to cicadas. I expect I will have to go somewhere away from my home to find the quiet I need. Thank you for sharing your personal way to seek the Lord.
Lord speaks when I don’t greave the the Holy spirit, I’m bad at that , help me lord to do your will , you have blessed me , Jesus name thank you
As I was reading this and thinking about ways God communicates with me, a peculiar smell came through the window, like dirt, and I looked and saw a male deer and spotted baby that have been coming here all spring and summer. I know that is one of the ways I see and hear God.
🙏It is true the more I seek the closer I feel the better I feel the more I listen out for my Heavenly Father When things are in a stir I am not so discouraged .Now I ’m becoming more aware of his presence through the day . Thank you for the focus that you give through the beautiful words that you share..🙌
This is exactly what I needed to hear at this very moment as it speaks directly to my spiritual life. I need to spend more time with God and to learn to listen to Him. Thank you.
Thank you for your beautiful message I am having a hard time to make time to listen to the Lord . Pray that the Lord will help me to make time to listen to him
This is a beautiful message straight from the heart. We have to ‘Be Still and Know that I Am God’ Psalm 46:10
Search me Oh Lord and know my heart , keep pressing, God bless for Prayer Bowls
Today this is exactly what I needed to hear. The longing has been there & I thought I was doing it right with prayer & journaling. I know God is around me Always. I see Him and praise Him for so many things but hearing Him hasn’t really happened yet. It’s part of my journey and I’ll keep listening. Thank you for being part of my inspiration and guidance today🙏🏻
Thank you for your message. Looking forward to hearing our Lord.
Beautiful message..he is always with us..in the soft rustling of the trees..a beautiful sunset..laughter of children..and yes the songs from the birds…we are blessed
Beautiful message..he is always with us..in the soft rustling of the trees..a beautiful sunset..laughter of children..and yes the songs from the birds…we are blessed
Thank you so much … this is just what my heart needed this morning. 😊❤️
What a beautiful message🙏
Thank you for your words of encouragement 💙
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