Title: “A God Thought” –Column #1 “Are you listening to me?” My mom said, “And then louder – Sheryl Deann.” When mom used my middle name, I knew I was really in trouble. All the while, I had heard her; I had selective hearing. In much the same way, we can have selective hearing with God. Hearing God speak is all about a relationship with Jesus Christ. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they follow me.” We, the sheep recognize the voice of our Shepherd because of our relationship. Do you know His voice? Webster’s Dictionary says “to listen means, to give attention to in order to hear.” The definition of hearing; “to hear: to perceive with the ear, to get to know, to learn.” Max Lucado says, “The mark of a sheep is its ability to hear the Shepherd’s voice, the mark of a disciple is his ability to hear the Master’s voice. Hearing God speak involves a humble view of ourselves. In Ezekiel 2:1-2, the prophet witnessed a vision so glorious that he fell face down before it; while in this position of helpless humility, God spoke. Ezekiel says in verse 2b, “And then I heard the Lord speaking to me.” He heard the Lord’s voice because he prepared himself by worshipping God; he had witnessed wonders in the marvelous vision. God speaks to us often, but we can miss it if we aren’t paying attention. Are we so caught up in what we are doing for God; we don’t include Him in our planning? Sometimes the Voice we hear is an answer to prayer, but since it’s not the answer we want, we think it’s the voice of someone else. Or we skip our time of worship, forgetting that worship and humility are the prerequisite to fellowship. “Awe” goes hand in hand with “Abba.” Hearing God speak includes an expectancy to hear from God. In Exodus 3:1-5, Moses noticed something very unusual, turning aside from his day-job of tending sheep said, “ I will go closer to this strange thing. How can a bush continue burning without burning up?” After God got Moses’ attention, God spoke. Moses had worshipped God and He waited for God with expectancy. To develop a lifestyle of listening to God, we can prime our expectant spiritual ears to hear God. We must understand: God speaks all the time, through creation, through His Word, through His people and through His miracles. Are you ready to hear God’s voice? Stand (or bow) before Him in humility, with a contrite heart and open ears. Develop a lifestyle of not only listening to God’s voice, but also actually hearing it. In the hearing, in the ‘perceiving with the ear, the getting to know, the learning, there is obedience.’ Have you ever felt like God is saying, Child, are you
listening? Don’t force God to call you by your middle name! Be
so in tune with God that you listen to him and really hear him the first
time He calls. And act out of obedience to Him.
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