Listening to God

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

James 1:19

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Ecclesiastes 5:1

How many times during a conversation have we listened but fail to remember what was said? Probably more than we care to admit. If it happens in daily conversations, it definitely takes place when God is speaking to His people.

In terms of listening to God, everything God says must be understood and internalized in the spirit of an individual. What is spoken must be completely received, and accepted as truth. Last but not least, and the most important part of the listening skill; what is said must be able to be repeated.

God does in fact speak to His people. The Apostle in the book of Hebrews says God spoke at various times and in different ways by the prophets. Not only so, He spoke in these latter days by His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). Even today, through the taught Word, the preaching of the Gospel, prophesy, exhortation, and admonishment, God speaks. In prayer, meditation, and seeking the face of God, He speaks directly to the spirit of mankind (Proverbs 20:27).

Listening, when applied to God and through whatever medium He chooses to speak, is not accomplished with the ear but rather the heart (Luke 8:15). The heart (the inner being) is the seat of all emotions, and according to scripture out of it flows the “issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). When it comes to matters of the heart, those things held dear are not easily forgotten.

Our listening skills are sharpened and maintained when we “seek those things which are above” and when our affections (mind, and innermost feelings) are set on things above (Colossians 3:1-2). God speaks ever so softly and gently to those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying (Revelation 3:13).