SPIRITUAL LISTENING EARS
On April 28th, Rev. Kay started her sermon by telling us to be quiet and listen to the world around us. Listen to the groaning. Listen to the aching of the world. The world needs to hear the Good News, but in order for us to hear the Good News, we need to be quiet.
With all the things that are currently going on around the world, so many people think God is asleep or doesn’t speak to His children anymore. Some people may feel God only speaks to the big-time church leaders because they are special exceptions. Do you think God speaks to regular people like you and me? Yes! He does. He never changes, and He has never stopped talking to His children. But, we often have stopped listening!
Many times, we go before God with our “to-do” list, and with one big breath, we tell God everything that is going on and what we would like him to do. We do not pause to say “Thank You”. We do not pause to listen to what God is trying to say to us. We give Him our list and expect Him to take care of it immediately. Is that the kind of conversation we want to have with our Heavenly Father? No! So, why do we do it on a daily basis?
I Kings 19:11-13, “The Lord said to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
In the scripture, we see how incredibly patient God was with Elijah as He taught Him how to hear His voice. Elijah performed many mighty miracles for God, but beyond the shock and awe of the gale-force winds, an earthquake, and a firestorm, Elijah found that the sound of God’s voice was not a shout. It was a gentle whisper. If we are not listening, we can easily miss a whisper.
Faith Walk: Let us take a moment in our daily routine to hear God’s gentle whisper. Jesus said His sheep—and that’s all of us—hear His voice and follow Him. He has not grown silent, and we have never really prayed until we have done so with the hopeful expectation of hearing God speak to us.
Prayer:
Loving God, give us hearts that listen for your word. Help us to do the deep listening to the sounds of our soul, waiting to hear your soft voice calling us deeper into you. You never interrupt us. You never spin what we are saying. You never talk over us when we’re trying to tell you something. You never finish our sentences for us, though you could. There’s no one who listens as attentively, respectively, and compassionately as you. Thank you for being such a kind and compassionate God. Amen!
With all the things that are currently going on around the world, so many people think God is asleep or doesn’t speak to His children anymore. Some people may feel God only speaks to the big-time church leaders because they are special exceptions. Do you think God speaks to regular people like you and me? Yes! He does. He never changes, and He has never stopped talking to His children. But, we often have stopped listening!
Many times, we go before God with our “to-do” list, and with one big breath, we tell God everything that is going on and what we would like him to do. We do not pause to say “Thank You”. We do not pause to listen to what God is trying to say to us. We give Him our list and expect Him to take care of it immediately. Is that the kind of conversation we want to have with our Heavenly Father? No! So, why do we do it on a daily basis?
I Kings 19:11-13, “The Lord said to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. 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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
In the scripture, we see how incredibly patient God was with Elijah as He taught Him how to hear His voice. Elijah performed many mighty miracles for God, but beyond the shock and awe of the gale-force winds, an earthquake, and a firestorm, Elijah found that the sound of God’s voice was not a shout. It was a gentle whisper. If we are not listening, we can easily miss a whisper.
Faith Walk: Let us take a moment in our daily routine to hear God’s gentle whisper. Jesus said His sheep—and that’s all of us—hear His voice and follow Him. He has not grown silent, and we have never really prayed until we have done so with the hopeful expectation of hearing God speak to us.
Prayer:
Loving God, give us hearts that listen for your word. Help us to do the deep listening to the sounds of our soul, waiting to hear your soft voice calling us deeper into you. You never interrupt us. You never spin what we are saying. You never talk over us when we’re trying to tell you something. You never finish our sentences for us, though you could. There’s no one who listens as attentively, respectively, and compassionately as you. Thank you for being such a kind and compassionate God. Amen!
Posted in Mid-Week Devotional
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