This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of “call.” It was created by Convergence for our Spiritual Collectives series, “On Calling.”
God whispers: “I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you.”
Teresa of Avila, Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun of the 1500’s
You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice.
Imagine the sound of a beloved voice calling to you. A voice that makes your heart jump. Like a lover making you forget everything else. The mere sound of the voice lifts you out of the mundane and gives meaning and purpose to your very existence. Many Christian mystics have found this kind of language useful in deepening their experience of God’s love and their ability to hear God’s voice in the everyday. One way to read the book “Song of Songs” in the Old Testament of the Bible is to imagine the relationship between God and humans as the voice of a lover calling to the beloved and longing for a response.
Pause now to breathe deeply and use your imagination to consider the poetry of this excerpt from Song of Songs 2.
The Lover cries: I hear his voice! The voice of my love!
Here he comes…
My Beloved responded and said to me,
“Arise, my dearest, my beauty,
and come away with me.
Now, my dove, don’t be shy.
Don’t hide from me in the clefts of the rock
or nest like a bird in secret among the cliffs.
Show me your [loveliness]. Let me hear your
beautiful voice, For it sounds so sweet…”
He keeps calling us to come closer.
Teresa of Avila writes: “This Beloved of ours is merciful and good. Besides, he so deeply longs for our love that he keeps calling us to come closer. This voice of his is so sweet that the poor soul falls apart in the face of her own inability to instantly do whatever he asks of her.”
How do you hear God’s voice? How do you hear the inner voice? Is it enticing? Annoying? Demanding? Confusing? What response do you think God desires from us? Do you respond to God the lover in the same way as the beloved in the poem?
The Lover cries: I hear his voice! The voice of my love!
Here he comes…
My Beloved responded and said to me,
“Arise, my dearest, my beauty,
and come away with me.
Now, my dove, don’t be shy.
Don’t hide from me in the clefts of the rock
or nest like a bird in secret among the cliffs.
Show me your [loveliness]. Let me hear your
beautiful voice, For it sounds so sweet…”
And now, inspired by Augustine’s words I pray – “Loving Jesus, Word Made Flesh, tune my ears to hear your call. You are my end, it is to you that I am journeying. And it is only when I have arrived there that my desire will be fulfilled. You are my home. Help me to hear and know your voice as you call out to my restless heart – “I am the way and to me you come.”
Listen to this audio meditation on the Convergence podcast.
Watch this meditation in video form.
Learn more about how you can develop your ability to hear God’s voice in the everyday and in community here.
Visit our original scripture meditation video library on our YouTube Channel.