listening

 Listening is important. In my line of work, I often tell children to be sure they listen and work on listening skills. We need to hear and listen. We need to attend.  God reminded me that we, as Christians, need to attend to his voice and his word. We need to listen and hear what is spoken.  He is speaking to his people, but often we just nod and go on. We don’t take the time to listen to what he is saying, nor attend to it.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

 

Proverbs 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings

 

Proverbs 7:24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth

 

Listen, hear, attend.  Each of these may be a little different. Listen is to give one's attention to a sound. Hear is to perceive with the ear the sound made by someone or something. Attend is to pay attention to.

Listening to God is to give him your attention, turn to him, and tune in to hear what he is speaking. Hearing is perceiving, being conscious of, realizing or understanding what he is speaking. Attending to what he speaks is to pay attention, give importance to, and to apply your mind or energies to what he says.

Scripture is clear about listening to God’s voice. Many of the people in the Bible are examples of those who listened and those who did not listen.  Moses obeyed God, listened to the voice of God and followed God.  One time, he did not heed or obey what God spoke for him to do. This resulted in Moses not entering the Promised Land.  Saul disobeyed God.  He did not listen to the warnings from Samuel and chose a path of continued disobedience resulting in a sad ending of his life, his son’s lives and loss of the throne.  Yet, Paul is one who listened to God. He attended to the call of God and was mightily used of God. Hosea is a man who listened to God and obeyed the words of God. There are many examples of both in the Bible.  We can also see modern day examples. Corrie Ten Boom once spoke about how she obeyed God is reaching out to shake the hand of one of the guards from the concentration camp she had been held in. In that moment of obedience, God filled her with forgiveness for that man.  There are missionaries I know today who have listened to and attended to the call of God for their lives. It is not easy to leave everything and everyone and go to a place that speaks a different language with a different culture and go to preach the gospel. I am grateful for these examples. Many men and women of God have walked lives with the results of listening to God’s voice and there are many who have been dealt the consequences of not listening to God’s voice. God is faithful to those who are faithful to him.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

 

We have so many reasons to listen to God. We have so many reasons why we don’t. We need to come to the realization that what God has for us is greater than any reason or excuse we have for not attending to his word and just listen to what he speaks to us. The results of listening to God, hearing his voice and attending to what he speaks are greater than we can ever imagine. He may take us down a path we do not understand. He may use us in ways that challenge us and bring growth. He knows what is best for us and is working for our good. We place our faith in his word and walk in the direction he sends us. It may not always be easy, but it will work for our good. Listen, hear and attend to the word of the Lord.