Before I write this blog each day I sit at the keyboard and silently ask "What should it be today, Lord? Please give me words to comfort, admonish, reprove and magnify you." Then I sit back and wait for inspiration. Those moments of inspiration are when we are listening to God. However, inspiration is more than just listening, it is accepting and following. The Bible is said to be divinely inspired:
2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"The part about "given by inspiration of God" really has two parts: God said it and man received it because it was "given" by God! Just think if one of these two things failed to happen: speaking and hearing. Either The Bible would not be God-breathed or man would never have received it. God's breathing is when we must listen!
2 Peter 1:21 "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."People listened to Jesus as he spoke. That's the gospel message. It's when mankind learned about Jesus. Jesus was and did what men of old said he would do! Why? Because they listened to God who spoke through the Holy Spirit. We have scripture because inspired men listened... and then followed the leading. If the "follow" had not been obeyed, the "listening" would have been in vain, and God's speaking would have been in futility!
When I sit down to listen before I write, one of two things happens: 1) My thoughts are confounded by Satan as I endeavor to listen to God, or 2) God inspires me with the Holy Spirit. The closer that I am following the will of God, the better communication I have and the more that I'm inspired. If I sit down at the keyboard after committing some grievous sin, should I expect the Holy Spirit to do anything more than cause me guilt? Certainly not, and furthermore, a person being convicted by the Holy Spirit isn't in a state of sanctification.
John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."I see sanctification as "mentally standing on Holy Ground and praising God who consecrated it"! How does a person become sanctified? It's by LISTENING to God speaking truth! I set myself apart from the world by reading God's word, contemplating what he wills and then obeying his will. In disobedience communion doesn't happen.
John 8:47 "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."Hearing the words of God means that a person must be in obedience to God. Being "of God" is more than believing, it's trusting what he says and obeying his will. That's a pre-requisite for hearing God. If we are listening and are not of God, it's not God we're hearing! That's where the devil jumps in and fills the void. That's when sinners get positive reinforcement that their personal sin is okay with God (sic).
With that said, I just introduced another facet of understanding. Listening requires two parties and we need to be sure that the party of the first part is truly God speaking! We can know whether that is true:
Romans 12:2 (ESV) "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."Having discernment is testing. The next question, since we're told to "test" what is the will of God, is how shall we test it? We turn to the operation manual for the truth. Our creator tells us what his will is by the word of those who listened to him in days of old. To "test" is to "discern what is truth" and that means comparing what we are listening to and thinking, to what scripture says! For instance, the Lord says "Thou shalt not take my name in vain" means just that! There are no exceptions, including extreme excitement nor carelessness.
Likewise, when God says "honor thy father and thy mother", there is not a list of exceptions. It means to honor even bad parents! Those who discern, read not only the words, but the intent. A parent'/child relationship is much the same as a God/us relationship. We are to love God because he created us and likewise, we are to love our earthly father because we are of him. The only difference is God is good and our parents may not be, but we love them just the same, and all that remains to show that love is "honor".
Discernment, too, consists of two parts: hearing and applying! Why listen and discern if we don't apply? Indeed, if we never apply, God may just quit talking, and our listening may be in vain!
Christians fail to change because they don't listen. People don't get prayers answered because they don't listen. God is not a genie who grants you your every wish. You must petition God and do what he wills as in "and your will be done". Those who fail to listen, fail to know what God wills!
There are obstacles to listening. It may be a baby crying, a television blaring, another distracting person, or even impure thoughts! When I was working with a group of non-Christians, I heard filth and swearing all day long. When I went to pray, rather than listening to God, I had those impure thoughts run through my head. Before I prayed, I had to clear my mind. I prayed to God to first remove those impure thoughts and then I listened to God. Scripture crossed my mind. That was God speaking! Then I prayed.
We are to pray to know to do God's will as in "thy will be done"! That requires listening and listening is more than hearing. It's absorbing, understanding, evaluating and applying. Listening requires cognition. We process what God inspires and make changes accordingly. That cognition process is part of listening.
Now, back to prayer. Before we spray God with rote words and insincere aggrandizement, let's get serious! There needs to be a mood. After all it's holy ground! Go to your prayer closet. That's where you're alone with God:
Matthew 6:6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."We are to be alone for two reasons: 1) To make certain that our prayer is to please God and not others (Matthew 6:5) and 2) to set apart (sanctify) ourselves so that it's between only us and God. That insures privacy, secrecy and minimizes distractions which come from the devil.
Then our words are to be sincere:
Matthew 6:7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words"If we're conjuring up impressive words our ability to listen is deprived. We speak to God just as we speak to anyone else, but with reverence. "Our Father who art in heaven" is pinpointing to whom we are praying and the person to whom we are prepared to listen by praying "your will be done".
In order to understand what I have just written, one must be listening. True I speak no words, but thoughts are shouted loud and clear in type. I present to you scripture, which is God's will, and in order to receive or reject with objectivity, one must "listen" to the thoughts I'm writing, and become inspired to heed the message. Most people reject without listening, but to reject with evidence, the reader must listen (and all the processes therewith). Then, if you are more discerning than I am, you certainly are at liberty to reject, but rejection without listening is foolhardy!
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