Listen…

Listen…Discern… Obey His Voice

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And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  
1 Kings 19:11-12.

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The most important thing in life is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  And the most important part of that relationship is our intimate communion with Him.  He lives in our heart.  He speaks to us by His Holy Spirit in many and varied ways.  Throughout the 6,000 years of Judaic Christian history, many men and women have learned to listen, to discern and to obey the voice of the Master.

The fundamental thing in the life of Moses was to hear the voice of God.  God spoke to Moses, “face to face as one man speaks to another” (Num 12:6-8).  Jesus said of Himself, “He only did what the Father told Him” (Jn 5:32).  Mary, His mother, was she “who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”  (Lk 1:45).  All the saints have learned to hear and obey the voice of the Lord.

Prayer is not simply talking to God; rather, it is a two-way street, a communication between God and us.  We must learn to talk and to listen.  We must learn the ways in which God speaks to us and what His voice sounds like.  Some years ago, someone asked Catherine of Sienna, “Why is this that in he Bible God is speaking all over the place, whereas today, hardly anyone hears God.”  Catherine  said in response, “Because then their prayer was ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’  Whereas today, our prayer is, ‘Listen Lord, your servant is speaking.’”

We who live in such a noisy world must learn to quiet our minds and hearts so that we my listen, discern and obey the voice of the Lord, not only happiness in this life depends on it, but also in the next.

Let us pray:

O Heavenly Father,

You have taught all of your saints to hear your voice,

Teach us how to be still and how to listen.

Teach us what your voice sounds like.

And teach us to obey

So that we may live in your Kingdom

In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen

The voice of the Lord is the most repeated message of the Bible~~over 20,000 times God speaks to men and women in the Scriptures.  Some pf the words that God spoke to men and women like you and me were the following:

To Adam, He said:  “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden…(Gen 2:16

To Eve: He questioned:  “What is this you have done?”  (Gen 2:16)

To Noah:  He directed:  So make yourself an ark of cypress wood.”  (Gen: 6:14)

To Abram, He instructed:  “Leave your country, your people and go to the land I will show you.”  (Gen 12:1)

Most people do not realize that God personally is speaking to them all the time.  One does not have to be a mystic or a saint to hear the voice of God.  The God who lives in our heart communicates with each of us in many and varied ways.  To hear and obey the voice of the Lord will revolutionize a person’s life.  Listening prayer not only brings wisdom, but also love and power.  The spirit of God enlightens our minds with the very thoughts of God, inflames our heart with the very love of God and empowers our life with the very energy of God.

Listening to God is also the most important thing we are asked by God to do~~to listen, to discern and obey His voice.  Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.”  

(Jn 10:27).  He promises that if we listen to His voice many things will happen:

Christ promises that “If you abide in me, and listen to My Word,” then:

Your every prayer will be answered.  Jesus says, “If you listen to my word, you can ask anything you wish and you shall have it.”  If I learn to listen and to discern and to obey the voice of the Lord, more and more of my prayers will be answered…If I always listen and obey, Jesus said they will be answered.  We do not come into this all at once.  We go from “sometimes yes” to a “more so yes” to a “forever Yes.”  To be continued…