Responding to those Heart Urgings by Jacquie Bradford

Have you ever experienced a sudden seemingly random urge to call, write or be with someone?

There is vitality in the moment of listening. Critical moments are occurring at an alarming rate and seem to be going virtually unnoticed too much of the time. In those critical moments when we feel distracted by a sense of urgency about being with someone, we need to take heed.

We may not know the import of the simple action of communicating with someone for that brief time until we reach eternity, but we don’t want to be confronted with the outcome of not responding.  Some time ago, my husband was feeling anxious before a few tests he was to take at the doctor’s office and I could feel his level of anxiety.  As I was waiting for him to sit down he walked off instead, unnoticed by me.  I was working on my laptop and at frequent intervals I continued to look around the waiting room for him, as that sense of urgency grew but I did not see him.

Then at what seemed to be an unbearable amount of time, the Medical Assistant called his name—I looked around and there he was. I asked him where he had been and he said “just wandering around”. I felt a deep sadness as I had missed the opportunity to pray and be with him heart to heart.  Then I hugged him and he went back to see the doctor.  It would be about two hours before he would be conscious and I could see him.

This turned out to be another reminder regarding being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  Our heart is to be in tune with that “still small voice” that can only be heard when we are paying attention, and are willing to respond in obedience.  Here is the way Robert and Kay Camenisch (2013) articulate this in Having a Hearing Heart; “To touch the heart or soul of another person, we need to go a step beyond listening. We need a hearing heart. That is what Solomon asked for from God when he asked for an understanding heart (1 Ki 3:9). Understanding means “to hear intelligently.” A hearing heart hears with wisdom and understanding. It seeks to understand the other person’s heart and to help that person apply God’s truth where it’s needed. God fulfilled Solomon’s request, and he became known as the wisest man that ever lived.”