Skip to main content

Developing the Discipline of Listening - Part Two


Developing the Discipline of Listening
Part Two – Discerning the Voice of God

We live in a noisy society.  There are a number of voices that compete for our attention every day.  Our meals are interrupted by phone calls on our cell phones. We have hundreds of channels available on our television sets.  Have you noticed that the commercials have greater volume than the shows or movies we watch?  

With the technology we use it has become very difficult to disconnect.  We receive hundreds of emails and text messages every day on our smart phones.  Our houses are wired to the Internet.  Our lives have become so busy that we need to  rediscover the discipline of listening.

        Too often prayer becomes a monologue.  We download our needs, desires, and wants to God.  I believe that we must make our petitions known to our Father, but we must also take time to listen for His direction and instructions.  Prayer is designed for intimacy and communion with God. Prayer is God’s means of communication with His children.  Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is the most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God." 

As we develop the discipline of listening we learn to still ourselves and listen for His voice.  We learn in Genesis 3:8 that the Lord would come to the garden in the cool of the day to commune with Adam and Eve.  The Psalmist writes in Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”

There are three different voices that compete for the believer’s attention.  They are voices of the flesh, the voice of the devil, and the voice of God. The voice of the flesh is always self-centered.  It puffs us up and causes pride.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans8:5, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things ofthe Spirit.”

The voice of the enemy always seeks to condemn and tear us down. The enemy’s voice is a condemning voice.  What is our answer to condemnation?  Romans 8:1 reads, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk accordingto the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

The voice of the Lord is a comforting voice.  He loves us so much that He longs to encourage and comfort us throughout our journey of faith.  Psalms 37:23 reads, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in hisway.”

Let me encourage you to spend time learning to listen to His voice.  Find a place to commune with the Lord in worship and praise. Your life will never be the same. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rebuilding the Broken Altar of Prayer

In Matthew 21: 12-13 , “ Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Jesus made this declaration, “My house shall be called a house of prayer!”  I believe that God is calling us back to the altar of prayer.  For several weeks the Lord has dealt with me about rebuilding the broken altar of prayer in our personal and corporate lives.  If we are going to see spiritual breakthrough in our churches and communities then we must rebuild and return to the altar of prayer. Wayman Rogers writes, “The ministry of prayer is the most important of all ministries in the church.  Prayer creates the atmosphere and binds the powers of darkness so the gospel of Jesus can go forward and the church can prosper.  This is the area that
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shout of a King is Among Them

Numbers 23:21 - “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God  is  with him, And the shout of a King  is  among them.” In this passage of Scripture, the king of Moab had hired the prophet Balaam to speak a curse over the children of Israel.   He saw Israel as a threat to his kingdom.   Numbers 22:2-3 – “Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.” When the enemy sees the people of God rising up in faith, he becomes very concerned and moves to keep us from fulfilling our assignment.   We learn in Numbers, Balaam could only speak what the Lord gave him to speak.   Instead of a curse he speaks a blessing. The enemy seeks our destruction, but God!   Listen to the conversation between God and Satan in Job 1:8-10, “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you conside
Post a Comment
Read more

I Hear the Sound of Abundance of Rain

I Hear the Sound of Abundance of Rain 1 Kings 18:41-46 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”  42  So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,  43  and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44  Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” 45  Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.  46  Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.        One of the most fasci
2 comments
Read more