Most people would agree that listening is an important skill; most of us aren’t all that good at it. It’s hard to communicate when all of the communication goes only one way!
I’m not talking about listening to other people, however; I’m talking about communicating with God.
To be entirely accurate, most of us don’t spend much time in prayer talking to God… we’re busy people after all. For those who do take the time to speak with God, do we ever give Him a chance to contribute to the communication?
Probably not.
You know, there is that “still small voice” people sometimes talk about; can you ever hear it?
Boy, it sure is tough to hear if we’re always doing the talking! Maybe there are times when we are with God that we should just be still for a while and see what happens… Can we spare the time?
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That’s the thing, isn’t it? Take the time, but then the concentration too! I most always find my mind starting to wander in very short order. I at least hope that sometimes that wandering might be directed by Him.
Do you ever get a “twitch” while doing something? Some sort of tweak of your antenna, so to speak. “Call Joe.” “Buy that scruffy guy a hamburger.” “Talk to that old lady.” Maybe He sometimes talks to us in the stream of our lives, pointing a finger at something He wants us to pay attention to. Can we avoid our own inertia of action, stop, and pay attention? Listening is tough!
Yes, all of those take place. Do we listen? Sometimes…
When God said in his word, “Be still and know that I am God,” He was referring to waiting on the LORD. Sometimes it takes me as much as 18 minutes of stillness to hear the first word. Right after waking and right before bedtime works best for me when I can set aside the day or night and rest in his presence, praying softly…come LORD Jesus. Just like that song, “I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses.” or “He Touched Me.” Oh, the joy that floods my soul.
Amen!
It is not just listening, but asking questions so we hear God speak to us. David often asked the Lord, should I do this or should I do that and David waited for an answer. We jump and ask later. Good post, thanks.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Thanks, Don – I was challenged with a very similar thought this morning in a YouVersion Devotional: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/1285-crazy-love-with-francis-chan/day/1, which I was just writing down my thoughts about when I saw your post. I think that God is trying to tell me something! I appreciate you continuing to be His servant.
Thank you Mr. Dennis!
Wow Don. You’ve just reminded me: “Be still (!) and know that I am God”.
Excellent!
Psalms 1:1-3 reminds us of the importance of also reading God’s word. The main way we talk to him is through prayer but the main way to listen to him is by examining the scriptures. Isaiah 48:17,18 admonishes us to “pay attention to his commandments”. You’ll be amazed to see how the stress in your life decreases simply by listening to God’s instructions.
Very much so; thanks for a great comment!