God speaks in many different ways to His children. The most common way God speaks is through His Word, the Bible. However He has used unusual situations. He spoke through a burning bush to Moses. Through a donkey to Balaam.Through the Word, through other believers, through promptings of the Holy Spirit, and He speaks to us through circumstances.
The hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, "Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you." - Ezekiel 3:22
When God wants to speak a very important word directly to us without interruption from the noise of our busy lives, he will take us "into the plain." The plain is a place of no distractions and no other persons. It is a place of silence. It can be a place of great need as it often fails to have the normal provisions we are accustomed to. It can be a place we go to voluntarily to seek His face, or we can be moved there without choice by His supernatural ability. More often, it is the latter method that brings us into the plain.
In modern times, it often means a separation from our normal activities such as jobs or families.The plain can also be a place where we discover afresh that God's hand has been on us all the time. When we are so busy with life, we sometimes forget that God's hand is still there, gently leading our path. When our lives get so busy that we are not listening or responding to His gentle touch, He must take more aggressive measures to get our attention.
Thus, the plain is one of those appointed times of one-on-one communication with our heavenly Father. No distractions, no people, no beautiful surroundings to capture our thoughts. It is a barren place designed to allow us to seek and hear clearly. When He speaks, we need to be able to listen. We hear much better in the plain.
adapted from Os Hillman
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