Seeds of Contemplation

"Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of invisible and visible winged seeds, so the stream of time brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptible in the minds and wills of men.
Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost,
because men are not prepared to receive them."

(Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation)

In his book, The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer describes how the Holy Spirit germinates the Word of God in our hearts, then grows it, first the blade, then the ear, then the full ear.

"It is important that we get still to wait on God. And it is best that we get alone, preferable with our Bible outspread before us. Then if we will we may draw near to God and begin to hear Him speak to us in our hearts. I think for the average person the progression will be something like this: First a sound as of a Presence walking in the garden. Then a voice, more intelligible, but still far from clear. Then the happy moment when the Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures, and that which had been only a sound, or at best a voice, now becomes an intelligible word, warm and intimate and clear as the word of a dear friend."