We hear the world around us, even people who are hearing impaired have a sense of hearing in a way, they may interpret it differently than those of us who hear, but it is a perception of sound in some capacity or another. How many of us stop to hear? Do we sit in silence and listen to what is in our spirit, in our heart? Maybe some of us practice so much of such introverted listening, we are the only voice we hear.
Hearing is first mentioned in Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” i have wondered, what does God sound like when He’s walking in the cool of the evening, at the time of the evening breeze? Either way, Adam and Eve knew who they were hearing. Not only did they hear, but they listened and identified accurately what they were hearing. God was coming to talk to them! They heard Him before they saw Him, oh and don’t you know they knew well the sound of His footsteps! He who has an ear…let him hear.
To “hear” is a verb meaning to give an ear or to lend an ear, discern, to perceive. The value of hearing God above all things seems to have become devalued in the world today, it seems unimportant to most people. Even to people who want to hear God, they’ve become convinced they can’t hear Him so “hearing God” has become a low priority seeing as how, in most people’s mind it seems, the probability of hearing God seems minimal, as a result the idea and hope of hearing Divinity is at the bottom of their list of important things.
On the contrary, of all the voices in the universe, hearing Jesus is a necessity above all necessities in life. His voice IS life, as His presence is life, as His dreams are life, there is life infused in all which comprises the person of Christ. John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Every word from the mouth of God, therefore, teaches us the fundamentals and deep things of God and faith. “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Many people lend their ears to “commerce and media” and fill their heads with unfounded doubt and leave no room to hear that “small, still voice’. …and if they’re not pouring the effluent of the main stream media into their heads, they’re filling their ears with political talk, words of their work-a-day world, pornography, or just the common foolishness that comes in from the cable network. It’s no great wonder that people are so frightened when we tell them we “hear God”. Metaphorically speaking, many live in that “septic tank” that I compare “commerce and media” to. Think about it… IF we’re inside that tank, we can’t hear anything outside. We have no contrast. We only know when somebody “flushes” and when you hear the plumbing “rumble”, you anticipate the flow of effluent. But you don’t know that there is an entirely different world just a few feet over your head … just a few feet of dirt and a concrete slab dividing you from the brightness, fresh air, and the presence and voice of God. But it seems many have chosen to live in a “tomb” and they’ve been there so long that things which should be common between them and their God are now unthinkable to them.
What will it take for us, as humans, to be interested in hearing God’s voice again? For me, even if God comes to chastise me, i would rather hear the voice of the Lord who loves me and died for my sins, than to not hear Him at all. Jesus said in John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Where it says “word” is the word “logos”, meaning “the sayings of God” as in what is “uttered by the living voice”. Personally, i really need to hear Jesus. Not just want, but need. It makes sense that the Living One speaks Living Words that are Life Giving for those who are without life that they might have Life if they would hear and listen to the Living One who speaks Living Words. He who has an ear…let him hear.
If we can’t hear God, just what do we hear? If we aren’t listening to God, who/what are we listening to?
David prayed in Psalm 51:8 that the Lord would ‘make him hear joy and gladness’. We should pray the same thing. Oh, and let us all be assured with all confidence that God hears us. Psalm 65:2 states that God is the one who “who hears prayer”. Not only is Jesus a speaking King, He is also a listening King…. Not only does God hear us, but we hear Him. Some say God doesn’t speak to men anymore, i say if that is so then there was no point in the words of Jesus in John 10:3-5, and this is important, so please listen, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
The Lord has a mouth and speaks, we have ears and can hear, i say, “Why shouldn’t He speak to us?” Where the word “voice” is used it means, “uttered words, speech”. Voice means exactly what it says and not some alternate means of perception. God said “they hear my uttered words, My speech”, and He meant exactly what He said. i hear God, i have friends who hear God, so i’m compelled to ask you, Do you hear God? If not, would you like to? He’s speaking a lot these days, can you hear Him?
Isaiah 32:3 “The eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen.” There is another place in the Bible where hearing and listening are used in the same sentence, and i’m mentioning this for the sake of those who might think “hearing” and “listening” are the same. Isaiah 42:23, like Isaiah 32:3 use both words, and there is a difference. If we give attention to God and incline our ears to Him, which is to hear, according to Isaiah 32:3 and 42:23 we can will also perceive His words and grasp His intent, which is listening. Believe me, if God wants you to hear and understand, He is entirely capable of making Himself known and getting His point across. And it’s not like He “tries” to speak to us, as if He would fail. The point is not whether God is speaking, but are we hearing and positioning ourselves to understand?
Like in 2 Chronicles 20:17 “…Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you…. Do not fear or be dismayed …for the LORD is with you.” Put yourself in position to hear and listen to God. God will gladly give to us the riches of His hands, but we’ve got to make an effort. We can’t just sit back in our lawn chairs in casual repose, drink our mint juleps, and expect God to make all the effort. The heart of the Lord is that we would participate with Him in our own salvation. i fully believe the Lord wants a running dialogue with His people. These are the days that if we are brave enough to ask the Lord, He will answer … the catch is we need to actually be interested in hearing Him. Position yourselves, stand still, turn down the volume of the world in your head and in the world around you. Ask the Lord, He will answer, i assure you. And when He does, listen! The word “consider” in the Bible means to “incline you’re heart and focus until you have understanding”.
God does speak, and we can hear. The date is today, the time is now, and forward is the way we’re going. Can you hear the Lord? Would you like to? Now is the time, position yourselves and incline your ears to Him! He will answer.
i pray our ears will be opened and we will hear the life giving words of the Living God.
Open your ears, position yourself to hear God. As the days get darker, i believe the voice of the Lord will become more prevalent. Can you hear Him, He’s there and He is very interested in speaking to you.