Getting ready for the finger of God

The Bible tells us (for example in Deuteronomy 9:10) that the ten commandments weren't given to us by any human being, but were inscribed onto tablets of stone by "the finger of God Himself." I don't know exactly what that means. Do we imagine that God really has a finger, the way that human beings do? Or was it more like the special effects that we see in movies, and did Moses watch in awe as a powerful laser beam came out of the clouds and began to inscribe those words on the stone tablets? How it happened is kind of a mystery, but we know for sure that those "laws for a long life" were God's idea in the first place, and that somehow He was the one who wrote them down for us.

Reading yesterday, however, in the first couple of verses of the next chapter (Deuteronomy 10: 1 - 2), it struck me that God didn't simply do all the work. In order to be able to hear the words of God, Moses also had his part to do:

1. Firstly, he had to get a hammer and chisel and actually prepare those tablets of stone. Sounds like hard work, back in those days when people didn't have the power tools that we have now!
2. Secondly, he had to set aside enough time to hear what God had to say, and that meant climbing up the mountain and staying there in God's presence for more than a month, leaving the other people down in the desert.
3. And thirdly, he had to prepare a container, a wooden chest, so that God's words wouldn't get lost or forgotten, but could be carried with the people wherever they went.

In many ways, the whole process of hearing from God in 2013 is very similar. God is more than willing to speak to us... but first He asks that we are willing to do our part: that we put in the effort involved in preparing for the finger of God.

1. Firstly, it's important that we prepare our hearts; that we deal with sin, unforgiveness, and all kinds of other stuff that could get in the way of our hearing Him. He'll show us what we need to chisel away. Often the biggest obstacle is our unbelief that God really wants to speak to us personally today.
2. Secondly, we need to set aside enough time to come into God's presence and hear what He wants to say to us... and that usually means more than giving Him five minutes at the start or end of our day. We may need to turn off the TV or the computer; we may need to sacrifice time with our friends and be alone for a while. We need to find sufficient time to quieten our hearts and really be able to listen to what God has to say.
3. And thirdly, we need to prepare a container,  so that God's words won't get lost or forgotten, but will be remembered and applied in our lives wherever we go and whatever we do. That "container" could be different things for different people. For me, it's been my journal that I write in during my times alone with God; times when I'm reading the Bible and praying. I've lost count of the number of times I've been reading through an old journal and I've been surprised and encouraged to be reminded of something specific that God had spoken to me nearly a year previously.

What about you? In what ways can you be more prepared? When is the best time of the day or week for you to carve out more time in your schedule for spending quality time with God? And what kind of "container" will help you to remember the words that He speaks to you? These things can require effort and discipline in the beginning, but after a while we discover that there's no greater joy and privilege than being able to receive truth, encouragement and challenge from "the finger of God."