The Whispering Spot

Bottomline: Creating sacred space will help foster sacred moments.

“If we only listened with the same passion that we feel about being heard.” - Harriet Lerner

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Six times in the Gospels and eight times in the book of Revelation, Jesus repeats these six words.

For Abraham, it was the oak of Mamre. For Isaac, it was the well outside Nahor. For Jacob, it was Bethel. For Moses, it was a burning bush. For Joshua, it was Gilgal. For Gideon, it was the oak tree in Ophrah. For Samuel, it was the tabernacle at Shiloh. For David, it was the cave of Adullam. For Elijah, it was Mount Carmel. For Mordecai, it was the king’s gate at the citadel of Susa. For Ezekiel, it was the Kebar River. For Daniel, it was an upstairs window facing Jerusalem. For Jonah, it was the belly of a whale.

The key isn’t geography; it’s consistency. If you show up, God will too!

Listening doesn’t happen by default; it happens by design.

Inviting environments can lead to authentic encounters with God.

Luke

The New International Version Chapter 5

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Mark

The New International Version Chapter 1

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Matthew

New Living Translation Chapter 6

6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.

Matthew

New Living Translation Chapter 14

he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Luke

The New International Version Chapter 6

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13

An altar is a place for worship, a place to have an encounter with God, a place to experience and recognize divine intervention, provision, and protection. One of the things that we can learn from the Bible is that we need an altar if we want to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. What is/are your altar(s)? What is/are the place(s) that you have designated to present yourself as a living sacrifice?

At various times in the Old Testament, God’s people set up a simple altar of remembrance at a place where God did an especially powerful miracle, at a place where God dramatically rescued His people, at a place where God taught them an important lesson. These altars of remembrance–constructed of simple, local stones–would serve to remind future generations of God’s past faithfulness in order to give them strength to continue trusting the LORD in their present trials.

Biblical Altars of Remembrance

When God promised that He would always be with Jacob: Genesis 28:10-19

When God rescued Jacob from Esau: Genesis 33:20

Again to remember when God rescued Jacob from Esau: Genesis 35:1-3

When God defeated the Amalekites: Exodus 17:8-16

When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses: Exodus 24:4

When God dried up the Jordan river so His people could safely cross: Joshua 4:1-9

Genesis

The New International Version Chapter 28

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, d though the city used to be called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Altars can be places designed to help you expect an encounter with God.

You will never experience holiness without making holy time and space with Him.

romans

New Living Translation Chapter 12

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

If you don’t open your eyes you won’t see, if you don’t turn down the noise you won’t hear, and if you don’t surrender all you won’t be free.