“As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).

On December 1, I received an amazing phone call from my son and daughter-in-law. Through the miracle of FaceTime and iPhones, I was able to see the 3-D photograph of a very special baby…my granddaughter, due in April. Right now she weighs only about 12 ounces and is only 6 ½ inches long, but her senses are developing to the point where she can already hear noises outside the womb. Our God is an amazing Creator!

I pondered the miracle that such a tiny baby can hear voices and sounds halfway through her development in the womb, and it occurred to me that perhapsthe Father is already whispering His heart to hers. Scripture says that the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1:44). We, whom God created in His likeness, were formed for fellowship with Him. All of life in the womb is prayer, as Creator forms and then speaks to His beloved new child…His creation.

We are predisposed to hear God’s voice from the earliest possible moment. Unfortunately, from the moment we are born, somehow the holy voice that fueled our souls is easily lost in a myriad of other voices and stimuli. Even in the womb there are many new sounds to begin listening to…the voices of our parents and siblings, television, traffic, music… much of it loud and frightening. What if our prayers provide the incubator that sustains our precious children from the moment we learn of their existence? What if we read and speak out the Word of God to them so that they always know and feel the security of the love and mercy of the Father through us?  Perhaps our own prayerful lives have a greater impact upon our little ones than we have ever realized!

For most of us, prayer no longer seems as simple as breathing in and out and we have found ways to confine our prayers into segments of time rather than incorporate it into our everyday moment by moment living. Yet, there are some who find a way to give life to prayer in the midst of every moment. Brother Lawrence was just such a soul. He said, “I gave up all devotions and prayers that were not required and I devote myself exclusively to remaining always in his holy presence. I keep myself in his presence by simple attentiveness and a general loving awareness of God that I call ‘actual presence of God’ or better, a quiet and secret conversation of the soul with God that is lasting.” (Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God: Critical Edition, 53)

I believe that children understand this Presence better than most…even before they can clearly articulate it. Yet, most of us do not have a clear awareness that the God of the Universe used to speak to us.  We were born into a life that either nurtured our relationship with the Father, or allowed it to fall into neglect until we were judged to be “mature enough” to comprehend how to have a relationship with the very One our hearts have always known.

As parents and grandparents, perhaps we can learn how to reassess the prayer lives of the youngest in our midst, understanding that they may actually be more in tune with the voice of God and the rhythms of life within the kingdom than we have previously suspected. Perhaps Brother Lawrence has articulated exactly how Jesus came to His Father in and for all things… as a little child – simply living in His Presence and having soul conversations continually. I have no theological proof, but I am willing to assert that Jesus lived in such communion with God from His earliest moments. He knew the voice that fueled His passion and His ministry…the voice that had spoken life to Him. Are we not created in the image of this loving Father?

My prayer for my yet unborn granddaughter is that she will hear and cherish the voice of God all the days of her life…that no external noise will quench the still small voice of her Heavenly Father! Perhaps if all of us prayed this way for our children, grandchildren and the children in our spheres of influence who are yet unborn, the upcoming generation will be so spiritually in tune that the world will once again be turned upside down.  As their young lives reflect the life of Jesus with every breath, His kingdom will be present to us all!  Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel – God with us!

“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50).

“But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone – a holy silence. Listen!” Habakkuk 2:20 MSG

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7a

Jesus frequently separated Himself from the busy, noisy life of His ministry to be alone in the Presence of His Father. Scripture teaches clearly how He repeatedly went to quiet, lonely places to pray. Jesus drew apart in order to hear from God and to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of His Father. Because of this disciplined intimacy, Jesus was able to commune with God and discern His voice in the midst of the noise and activity around Him. If this was the regular rhythm of the life of Jesus, it should be so for us as well.

Dallas Willard states, “God’s provision for us and for His work through us is adequate. We do not have to ‘make it happen.’ We must stop shouldering the burdens of ‘outcomes.’ These are safely in His hands. Someone insightfully said, ‘The greatest threat to devotion to Christ is service for Christ.’ Allowing service for Christ to steal our devotion to Him is a radical failure in personal soul care. But it is one from which the practice of communing with Christ in times of solitude and silence can deliver us.”

If we can’t hear God in the silence, how can we ever hope to hear Him in the constant hammering din of everyday life? It is difficult to separate ourselves at times from all of the spiritual “do-ing” in order to take the time necessary to listen for His voice, no matter what form it takes (that’s entirely up to Him). Often, we make a perfunctory attempt to be still and know that He alone is God, when we are really consumed with wondering “how long is this going to take before I hear something?” Perhaps a key lesson within silence is to learn how to be content in the Presence of God whether He chooses to speak or not. A sweet memory came back to me while writing this. I remember one late night when my husband and I discovered it had started to snow. We turned out the lights and sat snuggled together on the couch just watching in perfect silence…no words were spoken. Simply being together in that moment was enough.

Our purpose for silence must never be attached to an agenda in order to “get” something from God. Our intent is to simply be in His presence…and if we learn how to be content there…we will become in time, a prepared, consecrated vessel, ready to hear from Him when He chooses to speak. Silence teaches us contentment in waiting. Can the knowledge of His presence be sufficient in your every day life?

How do we make the transition from silence to carrying His Presence into whatever each day brings to us as Jesus did so seamlessly? Carving small moments of stillness into my day often helps…little mini Sabbaths of rest such as taking a walk, gazing out a window, putting on headphones to block out the noise around me, etc. There are creative ways to be still, but it is definitely a discipline that needs to be nurtured.

“In a noise-polluted world, it is even difficult to hear ourselves think let alone try to be still and know God. Yet it seems essential for our spiritual life to seek some silence, no matter how busy we may be. Silence is not to be shunned as empty space, but to be befriended as fertile ground for intimacy with God.” Susan Muto