Kol Demama Daka

I heard a sermon this week entitled Kol Demama Daka by George DeJong, a distant mentor.  The truth has been valuable to me this week and I pray it will be to you as well.

Have you ever struggled to hear the voice of God?  Say this with me. “Kol Demama Daka.”

Take a minute to read 1 Kings 19. Just after Elijah, whose name means “God is God,” defeats the prophets of Baal proving that God is God, he retreats for refuge, rest, and time with the Lord. 1 Kings 19:9-13 details an interesting experience. Elijah, feeling very lost and alone needs to hear from God. The Lord sends Elijah to the mountain to stand in His presence. A frightening experience I suppose.

The Text says that the Lord passed by:

• A great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
• An earthquake came but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
• A fire ripped across the land but the Lord was not in the fire.
• After the fire the sound of a low whisper (kol demama daka).

That day the presence of the Lord came in the form of a low whisper. The hebrew phrase is “kol demama daka.” The phrase can easily be translated as “the sound of thin silence.” It is the kind of voice you can only here if you are adamantly listening for it.

Often we have trouble hearing God and experiencing His presence. We look for Him in the utterly miraculous. Is He in the unexplainable wind, the treacherous earthquake or the blazing fire? Sometimes the Lord is not there.

Instead He is in the kol demama daka… the sound of a low whisper. You can only hear it if you are intently listening. Today, if you are struggling to hear the Lord or you are waiting for a sign, quiet yourself and listen to the thin silence. Pray and open your Bible. Ask the Lord to speak in the kol demama daka.  Chances are you will find Him eager to whisper in your ear.