January 22, 2022
Listening is not as popular or convenient these days due to the saturation of so many voices and our patience threshold. The myriad of distractions continue to press the space where we can catch our breath, it seems.
It may seem obvious, but we need to be encouraged not to let everything around us distract us from what God is doing within us.
“Distractions rob us of the ability to both live in the moment and discern what lasts” - BG.
Listening is an incredibly worthwhile priority, especially when the source of what we are hearing comes from the one who knows absolutely everything about everything!
Was it not utterly amazing when you discovered God desires to speak to you? And even more exciting; when He did speak?
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will gladly give it to you” James 1:5.
The incredible journey of being in a relationship with God begins in conversion with the renovation of our whole self – our sense of worth and our capacity to trust shift. That directly impacts our ability in how we hear and interact with Him. Our learning to interact and communicate with God takes us on some exciting pathways. The gauntlet of learning how to communicate with other people is a lifelong journey (as babies, with our parents, authority figures, friends, siblings, strangers, enemies, lovers etc.). It’s a journey ripe with disappointments, frustrations and incredible joy. Not Surprisingly, these life experiences initially shape our interactions with God. Ever notice how differently you communicate with friends vs a celebrity, a policeman vs a child, a parent vs a spouse, an enemy vs a close friend?. We adapt and have learned how to listen and be understood while reducing the risk of being hurt.
Fortunately, Jesus’s relationship with God the Father paved the way for us to engage with God. People who thought they knew God then had ways to communicate with him. They were shocked when Jesus told them, “No one knows the Father except me.” No wonder the religious of the day we so peeved with Jesus; how dare a 30-year-old carpenter claim he knew God better than the dudes with long beards who had memorized loads of scriptures for years. The fact is, many of them had lots of knowledge about God, but only Jesus knew God intimately.
Read what Jesus said to encourage those who sincerely wanted to ‘know’ how to approach God (recorded in Matt 6, message translation nails it).
One part that stands out for me “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this…”
I am still Learning
I remember the moment not many years ago when I heard a simple encouragement that forever changed how I communicate with God.
“You can ask your heavenly Father any question – and He will always, always, ALWAYS answer you. He is not like our earthly parents; He does not forget, He is not distracted or too busy, He is a good father and will always answer his children. He may answer it on the spot, or it may be revealed later – He knows exactly when your heart is ready to ‘see and hear’ the answer.”
After learning I could approach him with this understanding, I can now say with 100% certainty it is true - He answers every question!
I encourage us all – as you grow in your ease to commune with your heavenly father, you will discover His heart more and more - and He will keep revealing how much he knows about you to you! He will continue to show what His will is for you and the family He has knit you into.
Why keep learning to listen? – Not only for yourself, but it grows… we together, the whole family, will all be edified, encouraged and strengthened when you hear and share what He is giving to you for His family. Whenever two or three of us gather, He is in the midst to encourage his children. It moves us from “me” to “we”…
Cheers
Brant