Just Listen

It is true that one of the keys to life and good relationships is effective communication. And for effective communication to occur, there must be effective listening. This is true not only in developing relationships with one another, but in our relationship with God as well. Listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. So it is with God. 

Many of us are petitioning God for so many things. We are repeatedly asking, as if He didn't hear us the first time. But have you ever considered that He heard you but you aren't listening?

Is God someone you can hear? The Bible says He is, and the Bible is one of the main tools through which He speaks. Notice the Bible says in 1 Samuel 3:1-10, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening"…not Listen Lord for your servant is speaking.  Is it possible that God is trying to speak to us and we’re pretending to listen? 

I know for many years, He was trying to speak to me. I ignored sometimes deliberately but many times unknowingly. I would not let my thoughts get below the surface level and I allowed the noise of the world to drown Him out. But eventually He got my attention and  I began to listen and not just listen but willingly saying, "Yes" to what He told me. Now that I put myself in a position to hear, my life has a whole new meaning. 

I encourage you to put yourself in a listening attitude. Solomon urged, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God" (Eccl. 5:2). Instead of getting to your list of requests, enter into worship and stillness with one question: "Lord, what need do You have of me?" Expect God to remind you of a Scripture passage or to put a thought in your mind. If you have already decided what you think God wants to say, you will close your heart to any other thoughts from Him, so allow Him to say anything He wants to you.

Listening to the voice of God is active and participatory. Listening doesn’t always mean quietness, but attentiveness.  In the midst of a powerful song, God may speak to you about something in your life. In the midst of a sermon, your mind may be drawn to something the Spirit is trying to speak to you. Go with it…Listening is not about the sermon or the song– but it is about an encounter that tunes us into the Spirit so that we can do what God has called us to be. 

Here is the truth: God loves us, wants to be in relationship with us and to speak to us.  So when we seek to listen to God we gain clarity, a deeper relationship with our Father, direction, assurance, and guidance. We can gain all of these things by just listening. 

Enter into Worship