Listening to God As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Ecclesiastes 5:1 (NLT) With all our obligations, we close ourselves off from the world around us with headphones, exercising strict control over what we allow in. To listen is to pay attention, take an interest in, care about, take to heart, validate, acknowledge, be moved and appreciate (Nichols). It is essential for connection in relationships. Who hasn t damaged a relationship because of failing to listen? Perhaps the relationship most damaged because of our lack of attention and lack of listening is our relationship with God. As the scripture above states, God is always finding different ways to speak to us, even though we may not perceive it. The world s hopes are riding on NT Christians who will learn to listen to and follow God. Set aside a few undistracted moments and begin the journey of learning to listen to God. Johannesburg Church of Christ 1
Developing an ear for God The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel said, Speak, for your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV) In 1 Samuel 3, God tries to speak to Samuel. However, because Samuel does not yet know God, he mistakenly believes that was Eli, who was trying to get his attention. As with Samuel, God is always trying to get our attention and speak to us. We regularly make the same mistake Samuel made and believe that it the messages we receive, were not from God. As NT Christians, if we are going to be led by God, we must develop an ear for God. As Samuel listened, God raised him up and as it states in 1 Sam 3:19, he let none of his words fall to the ground. Because Samuel paid attention to God, people paid attention to Samuel. Have you worked on developing an ear for God? Since God speaks now one way now another :6, we have to work at developing an awareness of God s voice. God communicates to us through our spouse, children, parents, friends, extended family, circumstances, troubles, dreams, experiences, sermons and prayers, just to list a few of the ways. However, the main source God uses to speak to us is the Bible. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. (1 Samuel 3:21) The reasons we don t listen to God and the Bible are the same reasons we don t listen to one another: pride, self-importance, and defensiveness. We will become good listeners only when we can acknowledge we have a lot to learn (Are You Really Listening? Donohue). The battle against our own self-importance is won when we acquire empathy. The essence of good listening is empathy, which can be achieved only by suspending our preoccupation with ourselves and entering into the experience of the other person (Nichols). We have to develop empathy for God in order to understand what he is feeling, thinking, and communicating. When we read the Bible, we must not just listen for the things we want, but understand what is important to God. Johannesburg Church of Christ 2
Perhaps our greatest battle is against defensiveness. We don t want to hear what s said because something in the message triggers hurt, anger or fear (Nichols). Defensive, selfjustifying responses come from internal feelings of guilt and deficiency. This is why prayer is such an important part of a relationship with God. We have to be open and pour out our hearts to God, so that we can develop the reliance on his love and the trust required to listen and accept his input. As we decide to trust God and to eradicate our defensiveness toward Him, we will also deal with our defensiveness toward other people. We have a shared responsibility in our fellowship to help each other develop an ear for God. Instead of just asking if someone had a quiet time (a daily Bible study and prayer time), instead ask, What is God saying to you? How is He speaking to you? How are you responding? Who is Your Heart Listening To? Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them. Psalm 36:1 (NLT) My heart has heard you say, Come and talk with me. And my heart responds, Lord, I am coming. ~Psalm 27:8 (NLT) God speaks to our hearts but sadly, so does Satan! Who we listen to, will determine who we are! Satan uses the attraction of sin; he has access to the hearts of the wicked and whispers messages of bitterness, anger, rage, jealousy and pride. His whispers urge us to deceive, hide and lie. Zechariah 3 portrays Satan at the right hand of Joshua, the Priest, making accusations in his ear. If we listen to these things, we will believe them, be misled and become them. At the same time, God s Spirit speaks to our hearts and beckons us to come and talk with Him, whispering words of encouragement, love, faith, hope and promise. If we listen to God and his Word, we will believe Him and be inspired become like Him. So who is your heart listening to? Johannesburg Church of Christ 3
Active Listening The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. Isaiah 50:4 It is not enough to sit and passively listen to God. We have to be active participants. Morning by morning our ears must be awakened. Too many modern disciples have settled for a habitual, uneventful, distant relationship with God. Yet, just like us, God yearns to be understood. He longs to share his heart with us. The New Testament Christian launches into every day with new direction, insights, and convictions from God. He receives a new mission, purpose and renewed energy. His weary heart is rejuvenated and refreshed. Intimacy is sustained because God always shares new information and insights from His heart. The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. Psalm 25:14 Friendship through Prayer The one thing we know for sure about Paul is his devotion to prayer! He even began his walk with God in the book of Acts, praying and fasting for three days (Acts 9)! Right then his eyes were opened to the spiritual world, not just the world he saw in front of him daily. Paul experienced a whole new world through the avenue of prayer - a spiritual world that connected him to God in a friendship that would last for all eternity! Johannesburg Church of Christ 4
Finding God through Prayer Paul found God through prayer and fasting. He wrestled in his relationship with God through prayer and fasting. He knew God through praying! He saw the world, himself and his brothers/sisters differently because he prayed. Prayer opened the eyes of his heart. He created a deep connection with God through prayer. He found an emotional bond with God and man through prayer. He saw the spiritual world through prayer. He saw what could be - the power of God working in his life through prayer. His eyes, his mind and his heart were changed through prayer. His faith was increased through prayer. His love increased through prayer. He became more through prayer to God and Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-5 How pure is your heart in your relationships? Do you constantly find yourself struggling to have a pure heart? Most of us think of impurity in our lives only as physical lust and sensuality and all the sins associated with this. But Paul introduces a new thought and teaching about impurity: Do everything without grumbling (complaining) or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16 The Bible tells us how to be pure in our hearts. Without purity, we cannot see God (Matthew5:6). How does impurity affect our relationships? Paul warns us that when we grumble, complain and argue, we make our hearts impure! We become incapable of reaching out and shining in a warped, crooked, and corrupt generation. We cannot be pure and blameless! Grumbling and complaining about others and about the circumstances in our lives makes our hearts impure! We cannot love others with this kind of impurity inside of us. The command is simple: Do everything without complaining or arguing (NIV) and this so that we may BECOME the children of God we are supposed to be! We may find that in our relationships, we experience an abundance of complaining and grumbling. We grumble and complain under our breath. We see and feel things we do not like Johannesburg Church of Christ 5
and instantly express our opinions. Grumbling has become a lifestyle for many of us! Brother Grumble (Sister Grumble), how are you today? Maybe this is how some of us ought to be greeted at church! It is so challenging to turn to Paul as an example and while reading his letters learn how he learned to love; by constantly praying for his brothers and sisters. Is this easy? Does it get easier, even as we get older? Consider the words he wrote to the church in Ephesus: For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with ALL the Lord s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever? Ephesians 3:14-21 When was the last time you felt compelled to kneel before the Father? What will it take to bring you to your knees and see your desperate need for God? Do you realize that prayer is the key that unlocks and activates the power of God living inside of you? Do you realize that prayer holds the power to remove the sins in your heart towards others and allows you to love others in Christ? Do you know the width, length, height, and depth of this love? Is this power inactive in your life, because you refuse to give your heart to God in prayer? Do you lack the power to influence or deepen your relationships? Do you lack love in your relationships? Prayer Purifies Our Relationships Grumbling and complaining almost always leads to arguing! Stop and evaluate how often you complain about people and/or circumstances during the week. Complaining about your husband/wife, your kids, your job, your finances, your neighbor, your boss... on and on! The Bible gives us many commands against grumbling and complaining. Here are just a few: (Exodus 16:8) God hears all our grumbling against him! (Numbers 14:27 & 17:5) God calls our grumbling wicked and will rid himself of our constant grumbling! Johannesburg Church of Christ 6
(John 6:43 & 6:61) God commands us to stop grumbling amongst ourselves! (Lamentations 3:39) Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Do you truly believe that when you grumble, complain and argue, your heart becomes impure and you are in sin? Do you believe that this is unholy and unacceptable before God? Grumbling, arguing and complaining are forms of impurity, corrupting our hearts, filling us with ungodly responses. We are children of God, children of the light! We must be unique and different! Paul offers us an alternative to this lifestyle of complaining and grumbling. Instead of battling these in our relationships and seeing them destroy our love, our trust and our faith, why not pray? Paul, in his letter to the Philippians offers some specific things to pray about: Pray with thankfulness. (Phil 1:3) Pray that people will grow more and more! (Phil 1:9) Pray that disciples will have the discernment to make the best decisions! (Phil 1:10) Pray that you will die to your selfishness. (Phil 1:21) Pray to be like-minded, having the same love and being one in spirit and purpose! (Phil 2:2) Pray to value others above your own needs and your own wants! (Phil 2:3) Pray to have more humility in your heart and not always think you are right, your way is best, or your opinion is always true. (Phil 2:3) Consider others better than yourself! (Phil 2:3) Pray that you and your brother/sister will adopt the same attitude and mind of Christ! (Phil 2:5) Pray to remember your salvation came through fear and trembling - it still does! (Phil 2:12) Pray for God to work in people to will and act in a Christ-like manner! (Phil 2:13) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8 12 The greatest and most important command found in Scripture is to love God. Oftentimes, in building our relationship with God, we find ourselves more frustrated than faithful, dutiful than devoted or more distant than intimate. This debilitating spiritual condition results from attempting to love God with only our mind and strength without engaging our heart and our soul. Johannesburg Church of Christ 7
When we insist on measuring our love for God based on doctrine, performance, effort or achievement, then building a relationship with God becomes a frustrating experience. Jesus said in Mark 12:29-30 that loving God involves engaging our heart and our soul as well as our mind and our strength. Engaging the heart and the soul requires pouring our hearts out to God in prayer. David wrote in Psalm 62:8, Trust in him at all times O people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge. Pouring our hearts out involves emptying ourselves of the thoughts, troubles and sins that hinder or harden our hearts; such as bitterness, disappointment, greed, lust, doubt, fear, anxiety or unfaithfulness. The emptying and pouring out is done through prayer. The Scriptures are filled with powerful examples of prayerful men and women, such as Hannah (1Samuel 1:10, 15-16), Jeremiah (Lamentations 3:19-20), Job (Job 7:11), David (Psalm 40), Mary (Luke 1:46-47) and Jesus (Matthew 26:38). They poured out their hearts and souls to God. As they poured out their hearts to God, they were able to connect with God, find strength, surrender their will and draw close to him. It is in prayer that we pour out our hearts to God. If you cannot identify the condition of your heart, it is difficult to come to God with honest emotions and pour out your heart. Are you able to identify the condition of your heart? Here are several common heart conditions. 1. The Distressed Heart Psalm 77:1-12 (NIV) You may have a distressed heart if: You lack motivation and urgency to pray and engage with God. You find yourself living in the past, fixated on the good old days rather than the opportunity- filled days God has in store for you. (Psalm 77:5) You never feel rested no matter how much you sleep (Psalm 77: 2-4) You find yourselves at a loss for words, confused or too troubled to speak when someone asks how you are doing Johannesburg Church of Christ 8
(Psalm 77.4) You believe that God has failed to keep his promises and that he has left you (Psalm 77.7-10) God wants to relieve your distress, but you must first express your need for Him and pour out to Him whatever is causing you distress. 2. The Congested Heart 3 John 2 (NLT) No one enjoys being sick. When our head or chest is congested, the accompanying chest pain or sinus pressure hinders our ability to concentrate, think, rest, breathe or communicate clearly. Similarly, when our hearts are spiritually congested by sinful thoughts, motives, attitudes or behavior, the internal pressure arising from the guilt of these sins makes our hearts and our souls sick. Healing and forgiveness come when we pour out our hearts and souls to God (Psalm 32:3-6). Our souls will not be healthy unless our hearts are purified and healed through embracing open confession before God (James 5:16). It is only when we come clean before God, admitting our inabilities, weaknesses, unfaithfulness and failures that we can appreciate and respond to God s continual faithfulness to us and enjoy being close to Him (1 John 1:5-7). Examples of this are Solomon (2 Chronicles 6:36-39), the Israelites (Ezra 10:1-4) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4-7). Johannesburg Church of Christ 9
3. The Destitute Heart Psalm 102:17-24 Do you find yourself having reached rock bottom in life and in relationships? Have you lost your sense of purpose and feel that you are spiritually and emotionally bankrupt? Do you think you are experiencing a midlife crisis prematurely or have run out of solutions for your life or relationship problems? Does the condition of your relationships fill your heart with despair rather than joy; bitterness rather than gratitude? If this is the case, then you have a destitute heart. When we feel completely alone, at a loss for relationships and so desperate that we see no way out; that is the point of our greatest need for God. Psalm 102:17 tells us that God hears the prayers of the destitute. It is because of this conviction that Hannah was compelled to pray and pour out her soul to God in asking Him to bless her with a child in 1 Samuel1. Throughout his life especially during the hours before his crucifixion, Jesus poured out his heart with loud cries and tears to God, the one who would hear him. He trusted that God would take up his cause (Psalm22, Luke 22:41-44; 23:34, 46, Hebrews 5:7). God was able to transform Jesus destitution into victorious resurrection! Likewise, it is at our most dire moments that we come to grips with who we really are before God and through expressing our desperate need for Him and for relationships, we find ourselves richly filled up by God! Johannesburg Church of Christ 10
4. The Destined Heart Genesis 32:22-28 Perhaps the greatest challenge we face in our relationship with God is maintaining our vision and awareness of God s destiny for us. Like Jacob in Genesis 25-32, true understanding of God s will and the destiny he has chosen for us, will not come without wrestling in prayer (Genesis32:24). Jacob had to pour out his agony to God, express his intense longing and desire for God s blessing, wrestle with God, before he received his blessing, his destiny. Until we wrestle with God, pouring out our deepest desires, fears, regrets and loves on a regular basis; we will fall short of understanding and embracing His plan for our lives. This was true in Jesus life (Matthew 26:39-42). He wrestled at Gethsemane to drink the cup of suffering and to ultimately fulfill God s destiny for his life. When was the last time you wrestled with God, pouring out your deepest desires and struggles and praying until you surrendered your will to Him? As we pour out all of our feelings, pains, fears and joys to God every day, He is able to fill our hearts back up with His love, which gives us strength and encouragement! (Raymond Ong, Santa Clara County-Baptized March 5 th ) Prayer is such an integral part of building a relationship with God and it will always be a part of our lives that requires continual attention and focus in developing a deeper relationship with God. Johannesburg Church of Christ 11