Shavuot: Be Still and Hear the Voice of God

Most of us are comfortable praying for healing or a new job--sometimes even a reasonable parking space--but we're comfortable with these prayers because if we don't get what we ask for, then maybe it just wasn't God's will. It gets a little dicier when we start asking God open ended questions, like "What do I do now?" in a really difficult personal situation. When we do send a prayer like that, we might read the Bible and meditate, but how seriously do we expect God to answer?

I am convinced that God wants to talk to us. Moses and Paul both said that they desired all of God's people to prophesy, which is to be a conduit for messages directly from God. But how are we to prophesy if we never hear God's voice?

One of the defining characteristics of Shavuot (aka Pentecost) is direct communication between God and people. I think we can learn something about God's instructions to Israel and the Apostles before this great feast day about preparing ourselves to hear his voice.