Have you ever prayed about something, asking God to “hit you over the head” with an answer so that it’s obvious?
I have.
I have asked for this when I really wasn’t sure what to do about a particular situation and I wanted God’s guidance. I didn’t doubt God, but I did question my ability to discern the answer. Maybe you know what I’m talking about.
Questions to Ask Yourself (in no particular order)
God has shown me a new perspective and some convicting questions to ask myself about this prayer.
- First, am I asking God to “hit me over the head” to relinquish any active behavior on my part such as seeking Him through His Word? How many times did Jesus say, “It is written…?” (The answer in case you’re wondering is 76-80 times, depending upon your translation.) He referred to God’s Word. Have we first sought answers from the Bible regarding our decision? Does God want us to simply listen to Him and trust Him as our heavenly Father?
- Am I trying to pray a quick prayer to avoid spending time waiting on His answer or to check it off my list? How long do you wait for an answer? “Does the Bible really say, ‘they that who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength?’ Ugh. Because we live in a now society, most of us try to avoid waiting at all costs. Are we trying to take the easy way out by conveying “just tell me the answer, Teacher, I don’t want to/don’t have time to read the book so just ‘hit me over the head’ with the ending, okay”?
- Am I truly seeking His guidance or trying to shift the responsibility? If I ask him to “hit me over the head”, isn’t this trying to put the responsibility on Him with little effort on my part? For example, if for some reason we are praying about doing something and ask for God to “hit us over the head” with some sort of sign that we aren’t supposed to do it, and nothing happens, do we then get to have our way and just keep on doing it if nothing drastic happens? Does that allow us to stay in our comfort zone without having to sacrifice or give up anything? If God doesn’t stop us, we can have a clear conscience. Or can we?
- Have I asked myself what “hitting me over the head” with an answer might look like? Gee, now that I think about it, that could be painful. We may not be prepared for serious implications or repercussions for us and those around us.
- Have we sought Godly counsel? According to Prov. 15:22, “plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Which Godly woman or pastor have you consulted with who will tell you what you need to hear (not necessarily what you want to hear)?
One Way God Spoke in the Bible
God reminded me of Elijah in I Kings 19. God was not present in the WIND or the EARTHQUAKE or even the FIRE. I think these would have qualified as “hitting us over the head” for sure! But God wasn’t in those. Where was God? He was in the whisper!
A whisper.
A whisper?
Yeah, a whisper.
But a whisper doesn’t hit us over the head.
In fact, if we’re not careful, we won’t even hear it. We will miss it. Life is busy and noisy, right?
A whisper.
Really?
Really.
How do you hear a whisper? I suppose it helps to be quiet. When is your life quiet? When we are alone. Do we sometimes fight being alone? As a partial introvert, I do appreciate alone time and even welcome it at times, but not always. When I was a single mother, I spent a few holidays alone while the kids were away and I didn’t love that. One Thanksgiving in particular ended up not being as bad as I expected, once I understood it was an opportunity to listen to God and not to focus on being by myself on a holiday. And that’s when this whole thought started about asking God to “hit me over the head” about something. Maybe there is something to this “whisper” thing!
Listen for the Whisper
Listen. That’s it. We must listen for His whisper.
I once heard a story about a businessman from the country who visited another businessman from a large city. This is the way I recall the story.
A businessman from the country is visiting a businessman from a large city. They are walking along a busy street and the man from the country notices the hustle and bustle of busy streets and neon signs. He initially finds the noise level quite overwhelming. He asks the man from the big city how he deals with it. “You get used to it,” responds the businessman from the city. As they walk and talk, suddenly the man from the country stops. He says to his colleague, the man from the big city, “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what? How can you hear anything with all the noise?”
He stops to listen and hears some change fall into a beggar’s cup.
“Money? You hear money?”
“No, I heard a cricket.”
“A cricket? How can you hear a cricket amidst all this?” asks the man from the big city.
He answers, “We hear what we are tuned to hear.”
Wow. That’s profound.
What are we tuned to hear? Are we dialed in to God’s station?
A True Story
A funny thing happened. The night after Pastor Tim told that story, I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of…you guessed it…a cricket! It had found its way into my home, and I wasn’t happy about it because I HATE crickets! Really? Yes, really. A misguided cricket in my home. Or was it right where it was supposed to be?
The moment I realized what it was, I started praying… “Lord, your servant is listening.”
So, the next time you pray “Lord, I don’t know what to do. Could you just hit me over the head with the answer?”, consider the questions above.
Could “hitting us over the head” involve loss of my job? My home? My children? Sickness? Financial devastation? Relationships? Death? I have no idea, but I’m starting to think I don’t want to get hit over the head.
What if, instead, I spend time with God and His word and listen to counsel so that I am “tuned in” to hear His voice – His whisper. Yeah, I think that will be less painful.
What about you?
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Wendy Clements experienced the struggles of going through unwanted separation, divorce, and single parenting before falling in love with Jesus all over again. Now, as a Christian speaker and life coach to Christian women, she helps those who, because of various circumstances, aren’t sure who they are anymore and don’t feel adequate, to flourish and love again. An Athens, GA native, Wendy holds a BBA from the University of Georgia and is a member of the AACC and ICCA. She enjoys speaking to women’s groups, cooking, reading, and spending time with grandchildren.