Small Voice

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NLT)

On Tuesday nights where I previously served as pastor, our students gathered together for a small group prayer time. We called it “ReCharge.” Essentially, the students broke up into groups of around five, and spend some time talking about things to praise God for and things which they needed His help. It lasted about a half-an-hour. Often times there were people who stayed afterward who wanted to pray solo for a bit, do a small bible study, or talk with me or one of the student chaplains.

One such night, I was standing at the back of the church as the students were leaving, exchanging in high-fives, fist bumps, or a cold-steely stare. A few students hung back to pray. I noticed one student alone, praying at the front of the church. She looked deep in prayer. Then, I heard a still small voice in my mind. It said, “Go say hi to Jennifer (not her real name).” I began to argue with this little voice. “I don’t want to interrupt her,” I said. “She’s deep in prayer right now.” Of course, I’m arguing with the One who she was deep in prayer with. Not a good idea. I digress. Eventually, the voice got its way, and I walked over to Jennifer. She stopped praying and gave me a dirty look. I knew I shouldn’t have interrupted her. Not knowing what to say in response to that look, I simply said, “How are you doing?” Her look immediately changed to one of complete surprise. She replied, “What did you just say?” Confused, I responded, “How are you doing?” “Why did you say that?” was her reply. When I told her about the voice, she began to cry and invited me to sit with her. She shared that she was battling with depression and felt that no one cared about her, not even God. So, she was deeply in prayer with God asking Him, that if He cared, or if others cared about her, that He would send someone to come and ask her “How are you doing?” In that moment, I began to tear up too! By listening to that small voice, it’s called the Holy Spirit, I was used to answer a young lady’s prayer.

Our verse today is very straight forward, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” When you don’t listen to the Holy Spirit, especially when you don’t understand why He is asking you to do something, you miss out on miracles. You miss out on being the answer to someone’s prayer.

Today, and every day, listen to those promptings from God. Watch Him work miracles. Watch Him use you to serve His Kingdom. You will be blessed and you bless others.