"Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are silent," writes Mary Baker Eddy on page 89 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." How important it is to silence the material senses, to listen quietly for the voice of Truth, and then to follow its directing. As we do this, we bring into our experience rich fulfillment of good, the signs which follow obedience to the divine command.
"The Soul-inspired patriarchs heard the voice of Truth, and talked with God as consciously as man talks with man" (ibid., p. 308) . The patriarchs, therefore, must have known the art of spiritual listening, and thus their reward was assured. Noah was one who could be described as listening for and hearing the voice of Truth. The whole record of his experiences as given in the sixth to ninth chapters of Genesis is one of listening, obeying, and experiencing fulfillment of a spiritual promise.
Early in the narrative we find a description of Noah's character: "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" (Gen. 6:9). Thus Noah was spiritually ready to carry out the work God had for him to do. God told Noah to build an ark. This may have seemed like a tremendous undertaking, but Noah listened and then with childlike trust obeyed God's direction. Through listening and through obedience to instructions Noah built his ark and brought all of his family and two of each kind of the lesser creatures into it. As a result of Noah's obedience, the ark rose above the flood, and the safety of all in it was assured. When the waters were dried up, Noah and all with him went forth from the ark and received God's blessing.
