Sometimes I get irritated that the volume on my phone doesn’t get loud enough for me to hear certain videos or music. Even if I turn up all 16 bars on the volume control, the slightest bit of background noise is enough to drown out what I’m trying to listen to.
But if I play something at night, when the kids are in bed and the tv is off, no dishwasher is running and no cars are driving by, free from all the other noise of the day, then the volume is so loud and clear, I have to turn it way down to about three bars, otherwise the kids are shouting that they can hear it from the other room!
Some people are frustrated that they can’t seem to hear God’s voice or obtain God’s guidance. They hear people talk about how God speaks to others, but why doesn’t God ever speak to them?
For some it’s been so long since they’ve heard from God, they have accepted that God simply doesn’t speak to people anymore like the Biblesays He does, or that the people who think so are either misled or lying.
So what’s the truth? Does God speak to us? And if so, how do I learn to listen to what He has to say?
When Jesus taught us to pray, he said we should enter into our prayer closet, and shut the door. Matthew 6:6 There is something about getting into a quiet place, where there aren’t any distractions, and focusing on the Lord. It’s important that we free ourselves from background noise that can drown out the voice of God.
Here is Elijah’s experience: “Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” And the conversation continues from there.
(I Kings 19:11-13)
Sometimes God does speak to us loud and clear, but most often, we communicate with God in the quiet places where we intentionally get rid of distractions and tune into Him. Some Christians have never developed the discipline of spending regular quiet time with God. 
Think about it. When your favorite show is on tv, or when your favorite team is playing, do you turn the volume down and have all sorts of other things going on? No! In fact, we turn off all other distractions, keep the kids out of the room, maybe even close the blinds and turn down the lights to enhance the experience.
Shouldn’t we give at least the same amount of effort to our quiet times where we focus on the Lord?
Find a place where you can eliminate background noise and hear the still small voice of God. You’ll find that He has had things to say all along. You were just too distracted to hear it!