God Whispers: His Words to a Listening Heart

What Others Are Saying About God Whispers

This is the best daily devotional I've used yet. It has inspired me to quiet myself and ask the Lord to speak to my heart. Coupled with surrender and a listening heart, I have grown spiritually.

-- L.DePiero

I am so amazed every time I sit with the Lord Jesus and this daily devotional. It has been so heart felt and brings my heart and soul so close to Fathers heart. I am ordering this devotional for all my birthday gifts this year. Truly I don’t want any of my friends or family to miss out on this deposit of Fathers Love.

-- Mary Leigh Biggers

This book offers beautiful insight, encouragement and correction. It is like sitting and having a real conversation with God and hearing audibly what He might say directly to me.

-- Kelley Walsh-Clarret

Inspiring reading. A great book to ponder how God speaks to our hearts if we will quiet ourselves and listen. The writers seem to have found the secret!

-- Carol

I purchased a copy of God Whispers in December and have been reading it every morning since then. The devotions are easy to understand without being religion light. Each one provides a chance for me to think about my relationship with God at the time I'm reading it and as I recall some of it throughout the day. The writings are soundly based on scripture but also have a unique perspective to challenge each reader. This book will be part of my daily devotions for many years to come.

-- Patricia S. Edgar

GOD WHISPERS:

His Words to a

Listening Heart

by

Sue Piper and Sandy Petty

Copyright © 2010 by Sue Piper and Sandy Petty

Smashwords Edition

God Whispers: His Words to a Listening Heart

Copyright © 2010 by Sue Piper and Sandy Petty

Cover photo copyright © 2010 by SandPiper

Photo taken at Cook Forest State Park, Clarion, Pennsylvania

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or any other – except for brief quotations in critical reviews of articles, without the prior written permission of the authors.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV™ are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1453820179

Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

DEAR READERS

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

To the God who does indeed whisper

and the voice of the Holy Spirit

who reveals those whispers to our listening hearts.

PREFACE

Pay close attention to that which I speak to you. Do not ignore My words of grace and loving-kindness thinking that they are too gentle to be the voice of anything other than your wishful thinking. My words are truth to you. Just as you have not ignored My voice of correction or admonition, you also must pay heed to the messages of My affection, My affirmation, and My permission for you to revel in joy and comfort and ease. I long for you to see Me as your husband and best friend, not as a harsh master who speaks only words of reprimand and correction. Dare to look at Me past the confines of what so much religiosity has taught you. Hear My still small voice and be at peace.

Your Abba Father

August 8, 2010

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Heartfelt appreciation to our dear friend and mentor Rev. Ginger Martin who from the beginning spoke words of guidance and affirmation.

Our gratitude for the friendship and support of Myra Dolan, Angela Murray and Tammy Strong, our mat carrying posse, as well as the many other friends who stood by us and prayed for us.

Special thanks to our dear friend Karin Nethery who volunteered for the thankless and exhausting task of editing these pages.

Thanks to our Faith Fellowship Church family and leadership in Macedonia, Ohio for their unwavering support and encouragement.

INTRODUCTION

It is our prayer that these words would speak for themselves, for we believe that they are God’s words to His children’s hearts, meant to encourage, to instruct, to remind, to exhort, and to speak of His love for us. We do not, however, presume to have been errorless in either our hearing or our penning of them, so we pray that you will tune your ears into the voice of His Spirit as you read them, asking Him to sift them and reveal only His perfect self to you.

For one of us, the words came about after being convicted that her devotional time was being spent in praying, reading Scripture, and studying, but rarely in just listening: mind stilled, ears opened, expectantly waiting for God to speak in His still small voice. A willingness to spend if only a little bit of time in that posture each day led to His whispers pouring forth in words such those contained in this book. For the other, His words just began to flow as a result of time spent in His presence: healing, life-changing moments that resulted in much personal transformation and gave encouragement to press on.

We believe that God longs to speak in similar ways to all of our hearts, not in place of His Word the Holy Bible, but as a best friend or a beloved spouse would as we walk and talk together on the pathways of life. We pray that His voice might so speak to you, in ever deepening and increasingly personal ways.

If you’d like to contact us, please feel free to email us at sandpiper1122@gmail.com

Dear Readers …

If, as you read the words in this devotional, your heart stirs; if you hear God’s gentle whisper in your spirit; if you’d like to have a personal relationship with God, but you can’t figure out how to begin or what to say, we share a short prayer of reflection, repentance, and redemption with you.  It’s not the words that matter; it’s your heart’s yearning to draw close to God and accept the grace and love that He offers through His Son Jesus Christ.  What God desires most from you is a sincere heart and an unflinching honesty about where you are and what you need from Him. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that in my lifetime I’ve done a lot of wrong things toward others, toward myself, and toward You. I’ve made a mess of much of my life, and I’m tired of being in charge.  Father, I ask forgiveness for my sins and I ask you, Jesus, to come into my heart and be Lord over it all. Only You, Father, have the ability and the willingness to take all that I am, and all that I’m not, and turn it around. Thank You for saving me; thank You for loving me; thank You for reaching out for me.

We encourage you to get a copy of The Bible that you can read and understand. (The Message Bible is a great place to start if you’ve never read The Bible.) Also needed for your growth and emotional well-being is a good church with people that are willing to reach out to you and come along side you in this journey of life with Him.

If you’ve made a commitment to Christ or you have more questions, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at: sandpiper1122@gmail.com

JANUARY

January 1

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:35

Be not dismayed, neither cast aside your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. I know your path; I AM the One who stands beside you, not only when you feel Me, but when you don’t feel Me. Don’t think I abandon you in these times; breathe in; as you feel the breath flow into your nostrils, know that I am closer than that. Do not be disheartened; I know the things you have need of; relax. Rest in Me; I hold you in the palm of My hand; I do not tire; I do not rest. I know every breath that you’ve ever taken or ever will take, for I am the author of that breath. Fear not; I am thy strong buckler.

January 2

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

What does the yoke look like, My child? Is it a tool of torture, of unending labor, and toil, and sweat, and tears? Are you an ox to be continually beaten and prodded to work? No, My beloved child, My yoke is a means of comfort, a way to walk through life in wholeness and completeness without the chaffing burdens of Satan throttling your life breath, your soul. My yoke is a gift, not a burden, for it allows you to rightly walk whatever paths I set before you while comfortably carrying all the talents that I give you to sow, and harvest, and produce yield. My yoke is part of how you walk with Me, how you abide in Me, how you surrender to Me, how I help you carry your load. For the yoke is a yoke for two, you and Me together, My beloved child.

January 3

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

The branch, My child, cannot abide except that it is connected to, nay, a continuation of the Vine. You cannot wander, you cannot pull back, move away, retreat, disconnect, without dying. You do not bear fruit when planted on your own, even when watered and fertilized, for on your own, outside of Me, you die. I have purposed My fruit to be born by you, as you are a living, breathing, blood pumping extension of Me. My Creator hand has not planted saplings in My image. Rather, created in My image means connected to Me, part of Me, growing from Me. Be thou the fruit-producing blessing part of who I am. The I AM who sits on the heavenly throne is the Vine that grows and nourishes your branch-hood. Be My branch!

January 4

God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him. Genesis 1:27

I love you because I AM, and in that AMness, My heart calls out to you as My image bearer. Before time began, I purposed to make you incomplete without Me, and for such a time as this, designed your importance to My work. Get caught in the mystery of it all, in the unfathomable nature of who I am, in the enormity of the scope of My creation, in the wonder of My redemptive love; for focused on that, you will not be preoccupied by the dust from whence you came, or the persistent fallen, fleshly ways of your heart. Keep your eyes on Me stooping down, sacrificing Myself, living as Guide and Comforter within you.

January 5

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1-2

A graft requires closeness to Me, a leaning in instead of a pulling away, a relinquishing of your rights, a trusting in Me that even in the wounding, the cutting, there is healing and health. I cannot pour My righteousness, My holiness into you, or through you, if you close and latch the gates to your spirit, if you withdraw your heart into a tight fisted reluctance, if your soul shouts ‘Leave me alone!’ You cannot be fully Mine unless you relinquish what you think is fully yours. When you grasp tightly, your fist only closes on empty air, not on the transformative power of My righteousness. Do not be a branch that rips itself from the Vine in order to avoid pruning. Trust the Vinedresser Savior - I only want to make you fruitful and holy.

January 6

Ephraim is finished with gods that are no-gods. From now on I'm the one who answers and satisfies him. I am like a luxuriant fruit tree. Everything you need is to be found in me. Hosea 14:8 (MSG)

Nothing I do in your life, nowhere that I send you, is without My omnipotent and omniscient love, My strong right hand of power and wisdom. Take your foot off the brake; release the steering wheel of control, and ride on My wheels. I see all the way down the road of your life. I see the end before the beginning. I know the unknowns and breathe life into the yet to comes. I need your trust, not your advice; your faith, not your fear. When will you recognize that all that you are and all that you have comes from Me? That the life and world you see as your primary reality is only a vapor? That My love and My creative plans will always supersede and refine the days that you know? Let Me hold your plans and your dreams. Let Me transform them into imaginings made out of the durability of the Godhead, that will impact and direct pieces of eternity. Let Me be the conductor, you faithfully following My lead and the score I continually set before you.

January 7

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to My ways. Proverbs 23:26

I speak to you. I also act. I do. I will. I purpose. None of those depend on you - on who you are, what you do, or what you don’t do. I am holy, omniscient God. I don’t need your work in order to do My work. It is I in you that accomplishes your growth and your pruned productivity. You waste your time and your soul’s breath if you try to please with anything but surrender. Call out to Me from the mountaintop of closeness or from the valley of distance; call out to Me, and I will meet you where you are and pour life and light into you. Your ceaseless strivings are not the offering that I desire. I desire your surrender, your quiet trust, your faith that I am who I say that I am, and that all things are possible through your life in Me. Abide! Ultimately that is My gift to you.

January 8

Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, My way, to finding yourself, your true self. Matthew 16:24-25 (MSG)

Oh how I long to use you fully and completely. How I long to have you release your thoughts, your worries, yes even your prayers, to Me. How I long to see your days piled at the altar of My Presence where I can burn off the flesh that encumbers you and make you a vessel for My Spirit workings. Draw nigh to Me; take off your cloaks of self-righteousness; cast down your robes of unrighteousness, and be clothed in the power of My resurrected, eternal love. When you learn that you cannot, then I can. When you learn that you are not, then I am. In your life, in your life given for the needs of others, I am only as present as you are cast down at My feet. I cannot transform, I cannot use what you do not release. Your good intentions at service, at loving My children are not useful in My Kingdom unless they have been surrendered and become My intentions. It is no longer enough that you try to love and try to serve; you must lose all of you so that I can find a home and dwell in you, and love through you.

January 9

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

My Holy Spirit is your mantle, the putting on of My self. He is your wisdom, the interpretation of My character, of who I am across the days of your life. He is your reminder, your memory for the Words of Life that pour from deep within Me. He is your artist, the One who visualizes My truth and plants the pictures in your mind. It is He who enables you to stay tuned into Me, who allows you to hear My words and understand them, who assists you so that you walk a firm path of the heart. He is the Counselor, who hears and sees and rightly interprets the issues of your soul. He is the Comforter, who supplies succor, and rest, and safe haven. He is the Great I AM, the Savior and Redeemer, your only Hope, your Bright Morning Star. Draw near in covenant to Him, to Me, to the triune God, to the Holy of Holies.

January 10

Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. Zechariah 2:13

This is not a striving, but a giving. God the Father was made flesh and dwelt among you as Jesus the Christ. As God the Spirit, I long for continual entry into your heart, into your life. You must surrender, step back, step aside, lose yourself, in order for there to be room for Me to enter. You must be still, be quiet in order to hear My still small voice. You can only attune yourself to one thing at a time - you know that from your struggles with dis-ease and dis-comfort when responsibilities overwhelm. You also can only hear one voice clearly at a time; so in order to hear My voice clearly, you must silence, you must step back from, your own voice that fills your thoughts and your imaginings. I know that you cannot maintain this posture of quiet and listening for long; but I will tutor you in it bit by bit. I will make you hunger for My voice when you have only heard yours for too long. I will sweep away the background chatters of your flesh. I will silence the voices of the Enemy and his minions. I will speak. Be still and listen in that quietness.

January 11

You received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:15

I’m crazy about you! What you feel for your own children dims by comparison to what I feel about you. I wait for you; My Spirit moves to turn your thoughts toward Me. I stand at the sidelines of your attention until you catch sight of Me, feel My presence, notice My gaze, My love. Oh, if you only knew My Father heart for you and what time with Me and attention to My ways does to your life, you would allow yourself to be swept off your feet into the arms of My love immediately. Do not think that My watchful eagerness to claim you is in order to somehow deny you the pleasures and excitement of life. Rather, it is to tutor you in the ways of My world, to introduce you to the parts of it made especially for you that will fulfill you and bring you great joy. If you only knew, you would always look for Me, always catch My eye across the rooms of your life, always seek My attention, always set your gaze on Me. Instead, I watch and wait, hopeful that your many distractions will not tear your focus from Me for long.

January 12

You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Revelation 3:17-18

Fallen child, look into My eyes. Do you see condemnation there - or My love? Look deeper. I have plans for you, you know, plans that you know nothing of yet, for they would frighten you now if I were to reveal them. All I ask today is that you continue to surrender to Me, continue to learn of Me and hunger and thirst after My righteousness. I am not after a saint; I am after the you that you are, every single day. Do not hide because you realize your shameful nakedness; rather run to Me that I might clothe you. You are naked, insufficient, selfish, sinful. It is when you recognize that and surrender to Me that I can clothe you. Without My Holy Spirit clothing, you really are nothing, no matter how saintly, no matter how comely you might appear from the outside. What I want are your insides. Come to Me in truth, and only then will I be able to transform you, draw you deeper to Myself, change both your will and your way. Let Me take care of the "I should haves, the I don’ts, the I’m nots," the guilt at not yet being selfless. It is only as you walk with Me, only as you continue to listen and hear the truths of My words, that you can become who you are created to be. It is not an act of will on your part; it is an act of creation and re-creation on My part. Just surrender! - to Me. Not to your guilt or your self will - to Me!

January 13

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Deuteronomy 7:6

You are a cherished creation, a treasured possession. I long for you to know that as you let Me possess you, own you, yes, even control you as you submit that much of you to Me, you will be fulfilled in ways you never dreamed possible. Satisfaction comes from things so much more essential to life than jobs well done, friends well kept, days well accomplished. The only true satisfaction comes from pleasing Me, Your Creator, by being faithful to My voice and heeding My calling on your life and on all the moments of your days. That is what you hunger for; that is what you were created for. Let Me into your prayers. Let Me control what you yearn for, both for yourself and for others. Relinquish the white knuckled grip on the reins of your life. Fear comes, not from the thought of releasing control to Me, but from the responsibility of being the one who steers the direction of your life. Release back to Me what is not yours to control so that you can be faithful to walk in the ways and the paths that you were created to walk. Listen. My still small voice tutors, calls, speaks. My Spirit will give you the discernment to differentiate between voices of the Enemy and My voice. Fear not that you will hear incorrectly. My job is to speak clearly. Yours is to stop and listen and hear with your spiritual ears. Your job is to move forward with the truth I speak to you. Your job is to share what I speak to you when I call you to share it. Fear more a lack of