Thursday, February 13, 2014

Listening through the noise of Competing Voices

(photo credit: thejesusvirus.org)

"And Samuel replied, 'Speak, your servant is listening.'" (1 Samuel 3:10, New Living Translation)

“The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)

I spent about 24 hours at the beginning of this week at a "Hearing God" retreat. There was some group process time, but the majority of the time was spent praying, listening to God, and resting in His presence. 

Listening g to God does not come naturally. Samuel had to be taught to prepare himself to hear God. We have to learn how to intentionally quiet all the other "voices" so that we are able to hear God's gentle whisper.  One way to begin is to pray Samuel's prayer: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

Question: What "voices" are competing for your attention today?


Question 2: How have you learned to quiet those other voices so that you can hear God?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

No comments:

Post a Comment