Saturday, March 9, 2013

Are you listening?

Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live” Isaiah 55:3a

The other day I talked about hearing and listening to God but today I am taking it further.


God wants to speak to us! He wants to bless us when we hear and obey His voice. At times it requires patience however because God reveals His truth when a believer is ready to hear not just when we want to hear and of course it is not always what we want to hear either. Our hearts need to receptive to what He tells us for Him to truly speak.

I think one of the problems with hearing is that what we want and what we already believe affects how we hear and how receptive we are in listening. We either pick out what we want to hear and that is what we choose to listen to or we interpret what we hear based on what we already know, meaning we only accept the things we already believe to be true without being open to learning more. We get comfortable with where we are.

In Romans 10:17 it says “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. If faith comes from hearing and faith according to Hebrews 11:1 is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”, me must then be open to hearing outside the box and be ready for whatever the Lord reveals to us even if it doesn't make sense or what we want. That is where the faith part comes into play. When we hear something that conflicts with what we believe and or want, it is time to place our hand into the hand of God and allow him to lead us. Faith in God is the only thing that will allow us to truly hear what He is saying and by hearing God will bring about faith. They go hand in hand with each other. 

Only those who are open to allowing God to really guide our lives and to walk by faith will be able to truly hear what He has to say. So let us clean out our spiritual ears and humble our hearts so that we are ready to truly listen.

When we do that we will find that the voice of God is all around us. He speaks through several different avenues not just one. I narrowed it down to the main 4 in my opinion. There may be others, but I believe that they can all fit into these categories...

1. His Word. The Bible is God’s guidebook to His thoughts and actions. It is the primary source to consult about everything in our lives; our instruction manual or SOP (Standard Operating Procedures for the non military folk :P) Now just reading the Bible is not enough to hear God’s voice. We can study it, analyze it, dissect and even memorize it, but without a repentant heart and a determination to grow in our relationship with Him with a desire to hear what He wants to say, the Holy Spirit will not speak to us though it. Our goal should not be just to read the Bible, but to really hear it and absorb it in our hearts and minds and listening for God to offer instructions on how and where to apply it. His voice will never direct us to commit sin or to do anything contrary to scripture.

2. Prayer. Prayer is about talking with God not just to Him. It is a two way street; we speak to Him, He speaks to us. I heard the phrase “listen prayerfully” and I love it because it is so true. We must quiet our own mouth and thoughts so that the spiritual ears can open. Sometimes we sense the still small voice of God’s Spirit guiding us in particular directions. Perhaps He brings a person to our mind to pray for or visit, or perhaps He nudges us to do something we don’t necessarily want to do and that feeling  just won’t go away, chances are that is God speaking to your heart.

3. Circumstances. Think of all the experiences in your life for a moment. The blessings around you are God’s way of reminding us that He will provide. The hardships and trials we go through are His way of telling us to trust in Him and have faith. God speaks to us every day, opening and closing doors of opportunity to reveal what He wants to tell through our circumstances. However, not every open and closed door is from God. This is where seeking to hear Him through prayer and the Bible will help us to discern if and what God is trying to tell us

4. Others. God often sends people into our path to confirm His will for our life. Pastors, friends, and mentors can all speak truth and help guide us closer to Him. Just as with the circumstances though, we need to be constantly asking for His guidance through prayer and bouncing the words we are told from scriptures to distinguish whether the words spoken to us from people around us are in fact God’s will or their own. Take enough time to pray and seek direction from His word before acting on what you believe is God's voice.

Now God does not use just one or two of these, but all of them. We also need to remember that He will speak to us in His time not our own but it is important to attune our spiritual ears so that we are always ready and willing to hear and then listen and obey.

Dear Lord, I ask you please to clear my mind of all my preconceived notions and filters that would block my ears from hearing what You are trying to say to me. Give me a receptive heart and teach me to hear Your voice distinctively and with clarity. I pray this in Your precious name, Amen.

There is a Jewish proverb that says “ No one is as deaf as the man who will not listen.”  Well God is trying to talk to all of us...are you listening?

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