Writing in his I and Thou, his remarkable meditation on the human relationship with God, the Jewish writer Martin Buber observes that, in interacting with the divine, it is not so much seeing the divine that is to be sought, for as some students of the Bible know, the prophet Moses remains the only person who, as the text puts it, has seen God face to face.  We might say the same today.  Countless people of a wide range of religious ilk and inclination have claimed to have seen God, in some form, over the centuries and, regrettably, have frequently proceeded to foist untold suffering upon various groups of human beings.  Rare is the person who has claimed to have physically seen God and gone on to reap good for humanity.
     No, Buber says, it is not so much seeing that is important.  It is rather hearing.  Not hearing in a physical sense, or hearing voices in one's head (for even a psychopath may claim to hear voices in his head), but hearing in the sense of holistic encounter, hearing as an event.  The Hebrew word that is translated into the English word "word" is dabar, a word which in fact means "word as event."  That is, to hear, particularly the "voice" of God, is an event.  It is a happening, a moment, an experience that pervades the entirety of one's existence.
     We see, but we may forget or misplace what we see.  But when we encounter, when we step into and engage with every fiber of our being, we rarely forget, for we experience inner transformation and change.  We see God, and we envision:  we strive to change the world; we encounter God, however, and we strive to be like him, to be humble, as Buber presents it, an I before God.