Be Quiet and Listen

Chuckle: A Sunday School teacher was teaching on the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, "What would you do if you saw a man bleeding beside the road?" A student jumped up and said, "I'd faint!"

Quote: "It's a good idea to tune your instruments by prayer before the concert of the day begins." –Unknown source

"But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!"  (Habakkuk 2:20 MSG).

Many Christians begin their day with a time of prayer. It's always beneficial to find a quiet place to be with God as the day begins. However, the kind of prayer we experience is extremely important if the precious time is to be of maximum benefit. There is a temptation to do all the talking to God while being too impatient just too shut up and listen -- to wait silently and reverently and listen for what God has to say. After all, what God says is more important than what we might want to say to Him.

I remember someone saying, "you're not learning anything while you're talking." If we limit our prayers to quickly voicing all that we want God to do for us during the day, we may miss out on hearing the Master's voice and receiving His instructions and direction. Our God is real, alive, powerful, and the source of all wisdom. We are wise if we spend time in patient silence listening to His voice.

As Christians, we are blessed to have the Holy Spirit of God resident in each of us. If we are listening, He will convict us, teach us, direct us, and comfort us, but we must be listening for the Spirit to communicate with us. As we are quiet before God, He may convict us of our need for forgiveness, or our need to forgive someone else. In other words, what we hear from God, when we just shut up and listen, can determine the course of our day and our attitude toward what we may encounter. When we intently listen with expectation, God will speak to us precisely at the point of our greatest need.

"An aircraft pilot was following a major highway and observing traffic below. He noticed the driver of one car was attempting to pass a large truck, but because of oncoming traffic and no-passing zones, he was not able to pass safely. Again and again, just as he would pull out, an oncoming vehicle would force him to retreat. The pilot, who could see several miles down the highway, thought to himself, "If I could only talk to the driver, I could tell him when and where it is safe to pass."

God, of course, is the ultimate Pilot and his perfect knowledge is exactly what we need to guide our life. Prayer is how we communicate with to God, and as we learn to listen to His responses, we will find the guidance we seek for each day 

 

Love, Jerry & Dotse