In my early
morning devotions this morning, I believe the Lord asked me a question as I was
attempting to listen—"Are you really hearing me?"
It was just a simple
question, but with profound meaning. I
tend to listen for the Lord with a predisposition that if I just press-in harder,
I will hear what He has to say.
It is a common belief that if we just listen harder that we will hear more clearly, much
like if we just do something (anything) that it will make our relationship
with the Lord somehow better. I believe
I learned this technique from my Grandmother, who was a prayer warrior.
Truth be told, there isn't anything that I can do to hear the
Lord better; it's not about me or my ability to hear Him at all; it's about Him
giving me ears to hear. It has
always been about Him and always will be.
I was taken back by His statement this morning, so my
response to the Lord after I considered what He was asking was very thoughtful—"Lord,
I can't hear you at all unless you make your voice known to me! For I cannot make myself to hear you any clearer
unless you give me ears to hear you."
It seems so typical for me just
to assume that I can hear the Lord because I had somehow developed a nack or a habit
of listening, when in fact it was the Lord who opened my ears to hear Him speak
to me from the very beginning, not my ability to listen.
I believe He was reminding me to trust Him
for the hearing part and avoid falling into the trap (bad habit) of
thinking that it was up to me to hear Him when it was always up to Him.
"The one who has ears had better listen!
Matthew 11:15 (NET Bible)
Jesus is speaking in this passage; obviously, everyone has
ears (that is a given), the imperative that Jesus is communicating here is
that there is a difference between hearing what is being said, and intently
listening by engaging the hearing processes.
Jesus even takes this further in Revelation 2:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what The
Spirit is
saying to the assemblies."
Revelation 2:29 (APOE)
Jesus was speaking through the Holy Spirit to the body of
believers that gathered in His name at that time and was giving them direction. The Holy Spirit is speaking to us today and is
telling us to hear Him with ears, which are not ears at all, but with our minds,
which is perception and understanding.
The Holy Spirit speaks to our mind and reveals Jesus to us through the written word of God, and through His ability to communicate to us
directly. It is not as odd as it sounds,
Jesus is telling us to perceive and understand that as He abides in us, He is
speaking with us and giving us the means to "hear" Him clearly
and concisely.
"God's
plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret
which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which
means that you will share in the glory of God." Colossians 1:27 (GNT)
So why don't we always hear clearly? The Lord desires that everyone listen to what
He has to say and hear Him plainly.
There is no formula or plan which can help us hear the Lord better; the
bottom line is He wants an intimate relationship with us, where He can speak
with us and empower us to hear Him regularly.
Again, it is all about Him.
As Jesus
draws us into a relationship with Himself, we can enjoy having ongoing
conversations with Him, which will transform us into the person He wants us to become.
"Eternal
life means to know and experience you as the only true God, and to know and
experience Jesus Christ, as the Son whom you have sent."
John 17:3 (TPT)
So it comes to Knowing the Lord (intimately, relationally experiencing
Him) it is the same as hearing Him. It
seems like a long way around the subject of hearing the Lord, but it always
comes back to Him no matter what road you take or path you follow, it is about
an abiding relationship with Jesus.
If your desire is to hear the Lord and you doubt whether
or not this can happen for you, I encourage you to take the time and talk with
Him, ask Him to give you ears that hear Him and a heart (mind) that
understands (perceives) Him.
He is faithful to His character to respond to you and answer you. He wants to abide in you and become closer to
you than even a brother can; for He has so much to share with you.
As for me, I am grateful that the Lord is so patient that He
allows me to veer off of the path from time to time, but He is always there to meet
me with a question that challenges me to get back on track into right relationship
with Him again. And, hopefully, even take me into a deeper union with Him.
Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett
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