Ears to Hear

Several miraculous events occur simultaneously when a person truly surrenders his/her life to Christ: 1) Saving faith is granted them, 2) Their eyes are opened, 3) Their spirits are awakened from the sleep of death and estrangement from the Creator. This is referred to by The Master as the process of being “born again”.  Once this occurs, the vital relationship between Creator and created begins – and communication is a critical component of that relationship. The communication process is referred to in scripture as “prayer”. Breaking this down further, prayer involves both speaking and listening. If one of these components is missing, the relationship will suffer. We often think narrowly of prayer as supplication only, asking God for things…but it is actually so much more. From my perspective, THE most critical element of prayer is listening to God and worshipping Him, as Solomon boldly says: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.” (Ecc 5:1&2) While I’m always mindful of God’s intense love for us, and that He, therefore, delights in hearing of our needs in prayer...and even commands us to tell Him of those needs, viz., “Knock and it will be opened to you…” (Mat 7:7) there is, actually, a proper order in the process of prayer that involves a constant abiding in Him (John 15) and a listening, attentive, waiting spirit that will ensure we step in the cadence of the Holy Spirit and pray according to His will. The art and discipline of listening to God requires tenacity, patience, and prolonged periods of silence before Him – hence, the critical importance of the spiritual disciplines. The prophet Elijah learned to discern God’s voice on the mountain, not in the world wind, nor in the fire, nor in the earth quake…but in a still, small voice. “My sheep hear My voice,” Jesus says, “and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27). How are we to follow Him if we don’t hear His voice? We must cultivate our listening skills with a personal resolve and by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Indeed, since “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deut 8:3) our very lives depend on it. Perhaps there is no greater passage in scripture that underscores the life-giving importance of listening to our Creator than John chapter 1, verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Indeed, God has spoken completely and perfectly, to all creation for all time…in the person of His One and Only Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“This is My Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,” the Father said, “Listen to Him.” Mat 17:5b