Article July 15, 1996 Issue

Hearing God's messages

Marian C. English

My small hiking companions were listening, but not hearing anything. The children were so familiar with city noises that at first they could not distinguish the small sounds of nature on that peaceful mountain trail. But as they became very still, they realized that the surroundings, while tranquil, were certainly not silent. First they noticed the tiny buzz of busy insects, then a raven cawing as he played in mountain air currents. They even heard wind pushing softly through thick needles of a blue spruce. At last they laughed, wondering how they could have missed the noisy red squirrel chattering from a lofty branch of a pine tree.

The children were learning lessons about nature. But I was discovering something valuable about prayer. As a new student of Christian Science, I had begun to grasp the fact that because man is God's expression, God was not far-off but as close as my thought, speaking to me through the spiritual ideas He imparts. But listening for those spiritual messages and actually hearing them are two different things. I was certain that His healing messages could be heard more consistently. The Bible declares that God "spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Ex. 33:11). And Christian Science affirms, "The Soul-inspired patriarchs heard the voice of Truth, and talked with God as consciously as man talks with man" (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health, p. 308). How I longed for such close communion!

Shortly after our hike, another incident taught me more about hearing God's messages. One evening, while traveling down a country road, the car I was driving slipped into deep ruts and became stuck. All of its power could not move it forward or backward an inch. We were miles from help, it was growing darker by the minute, and I was concerned for the comfort of my two elderly passengers. I quickly prayed, and within minutes, headlights approached on that lonely road. I smiled, thinking that God always answers our prayers.

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