Joining

Lord help me to clearly recognize your voice and to be so familiar with your ways that I don’t miss joining in anything You’re doing today.

Listen

Not to the deafening noise we’re constantly surrounded by but to the still small voice of our Lord. He has much to say to you today, Give Him your attention.

Whisper

As I was praying for and thinking about so many of us that are waiting to hear God’s direction, I came across this today:

“I have faith that God will show you the answer. But you have to understand that sometimes it takes a while to be able to recognize what God wants you to do. That’s how it often is. God’s voice is usually nothing more than a whisper and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell.” ― Nicholas Sparks

To hear a whisper we must be still and get away from distraction.

You Need To…

You need to… is usually a poor way to continue a conversation. Listening is becoming more and more of a lost art.

Listening to God

As we mentioned yesterday, listening for God is a matter of being still and giving time and place for Him to speak. Listening to God is about trusting Him enough to do what you’ve heard from Him.

Listening for God

Yesterday we talked about finding or making some time to get away from the noise and distraction in the world around us in order to connect more closely with God, which we know is no easy task. But what might be even more difficult is once we’ve found a time or place that’s quiet around us, to get our minds and thoughts to be still. How can we listen for what God has to say if our quiet time is filled with us speaking to Him? It’s far better to give our thoughts over to Him and listen to what He has to say than to run through a list of what’s on our mind or ask for what we want. It’s certainly okay to take our concerns to the Lord but hearing back is really good too.

Love Does VI

Still exploring Bob Goff’s “Love Does”:

“I used to think God guided us by opening and closing doors, but now I know sometimes God wants us to kick the doors down.”

When we know we’ve heard from God we can confidently follow His direction no matter what the opposition might be, even as Christ demonstrated unto death. Sometimes there aren’t even doors but walls to be chipped away at, scaled or gone around.

Fire Insurance

The next degree of involvement some allow God to have is as an insurance agent. They may recognize that The Lord made them and that He is still around but think all He wants is to make sure we get to Heaven where then we’ll begin to know Him. They’ve heard enough to accept His gift of eternity but haven’t grasped the idea that forever includes today, that God’s presence and involvement in their life could be so much more than one prayer and then, “See you in Heaven.”

God’s Voice

My friend Jackson explained knowing God’s voice the other day. He said, “It’s like knowing my mom’s voice. I know her so well and have spent so much time with her that of course I know it’s her. Hearing God is just like that. We can know Him so well there is no doubt that it’s Him.” I admire your son Janie, he brings you honor.

Remember

”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God always has your best in His mind. Get close enough to hear what that is for you today.