I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY[1]
Scottish pastor Horatius Bonar, in a stroke of brilliant pastoral writing, highlights three promises of Christ. [First,] for rest. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [2]
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest; lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was: weary, and worn, and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.
[Then,] for living water. “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”[3]
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one; stoop down and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream; my thirst was quench, my soul revived, and now I live in him.
[And finally,] for light. “Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’”[4]
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light; look unto me; thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my Star, my Sun; and in that light of life I’ll walk till traveling days are done.
[Bonar] puts the quest for these things on our own lips, in our own hearts. “I heard the voice of Jesus say,” so I came, I found, I drank, I live, I looked, and I will walk. May this be our experience and our testimony.[5]
O God, of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me. I can ask for nothing less that is completely to your honor, and if I do ask anything less, I shall always be in want. Only in you I have all. Amen.[6]
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Words: Horatius Bonar, 1850.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mt 11:28–30.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Jn 4:10–14.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Jn 8:12.
[5] The Sing! Hymnal, 2025, p. 919.
[6] A Prayer for Satisfaction in Christ from Julian of Norwich. Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 673.
