HEARING
THE FLUTES

Topics: Hearing God; Holy Spirit; Quietness; Spiritual Disciplines; Spiritual Perception

References: 1 Samuel 3:1–14; Psalm 16:7

A child was told by his father during a concert, “Listen for the flutes in this song. Don’t they sound beautiful?” The child looked up at his father with a puzzled look, “What are flutes, Father?”

A child first needs to learn what flutes sound like on their own, separate from the whole orchestra, before he can hear them in a symphony. So it is with us as children of God. Unless we take the time to hear his voice in the quiet moments of life, we will not be able to hear him in the symphony sounds of life.

—Stephen Macchia, Becoming a Healthy Church (Baker, 1999)