"In an act of great tenderness, God visited Elijah in his time of despair [I Kings 19]. What happened next speaks volumes about what style works best when an omnipotent God decides to communicate with tiny human beings:
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
The gentle whisper, Elijah heard. God had accommodated himself to his prophet in a soft voice almost like silence."
-Philip Yancey Reaching for the Invisible God