Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This will be given Sunday, March 24, 2024.
Have you ever had a feeling that you needed to do some act of goodness? Maybe a name came to your mind along with the thought, “She needs a friend; you should reach out.” Or maybe a decision had been weighing on you, when you received a sudden spark of clarity and somehow you knew — beyond your own reasoning — what you should do. You may have felt a nudge to apologize to someone. Or perhaps a message came to your heart that helped you see someone with more patience and compassion.
We often call these thoughts and feelings “promptings,” and sometimes they’re so subtle and so unexpected, we wonder where they came from. The answer is that if it invites you to do good, to be kind, to help others, to love God and serve Him, it comes from God (see Moroni 7:13).
Anciently, the prophet Elijah learned about the Lord’s quiet promptings. Elijah was known for some remarkable manifestations of divine power. He sealed the heavens to keep rain from falling, and he called down fire from the sky — all in an attempt to persuade people to turn to the Lord. But it wasn’t working. Alone, exhausted, and discouraged, Elijah fled for his life and hid in a cave. There the Lord spoke to Elijah, but not in a “strong wind” or an “earthquake” or a “fire.” Instead, Elijah found Him in “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12).
To hear a quiet voice, we need to be quiet too. We may miss the grandeur of God, as well as His quiet whisperings, if we surround ourselves with too much busyness and noise. God does want to speak to you. He wants to whisper comfort and reassurance. He wants to offer guidance. And there may be some prompting He wants to give, some good thing He’d like you to do.
When we settle down enough to listen to that still, small voice, when we respond to a whispering nudge to do something good, we’re answering a call from God.
Tuning in …
The “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL News Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirecTV, SiriusXM (Ch. 143), tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir and Amazon Alexa (must enable skill). The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time on these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedules.
