My job as a preacher is to underline my hearers' Bibles for them.

That's because when God speaks in the human heart, he often whispers. Elijah learned that in the cave after the wind and earthquake.

Although God can be soft spoken, occasionally he shouts for emphasis because people don't always listen as they should. God can boost the volume to bring people to a moment of understanding, change, and growth. When those near Jesus heard the voice of the Father from heaven, they said it sounded like thunder.

Given the decibel power at his disposal, when God wants to crank up the volume in the human heart, he often chooses a surprising means to do so: He speaks through a preacher. Not necessarily a loud preacher, just a person anointed of the Spirit, earnest about God's truth, who makes the Word and its application as clear as a desert sky.

A friend recently told me of an unforgettable experience she had while listening to Chuck Swindoll at Moody Bible Institute's Founders' Week. "I remember ...