Listen

In my house, we focus a lot of effort on teaching our children to listen. By listen, I mean obeying. It is a struggle, as it is for most (if not all) parents. Of course, each child is disobedient to a certain degree. And that should improve over time, right? Well, most of the time. In our experience, it is getting easier as the kids get older. But, then we talk to parents of teenagers, and we feel like we haven't even been through the worst part of our children's disobedience.

And it got me thinking....aren't we like that with God? We are continually "listening" to Him through His Word--waiting for Him to answer prayers, or reveal mysteries. But also, we're trying to listen to Him by following His commands. And so, it becomes a paradigm of sorts--listening for God and listening to Him. I'd like to think that I am actively listening to God in obedience, but if I'm being honest, I fall short much of the time.

I've mentioned before that I read from Psalms every day--usually one in the morning and one at night. Tonight, I read from Psalm 50, and it sparked my thinking on this paradigm of listening.

Psalm 50:1-3 "The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent..."

Psalm 50:7 "Hear, o my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God.


I am just filled with hope by this! He will not be silent! He is summoning us, beckoning us, to listen. He WILL speak to us, but how can we hear Him if we aren't listening? So, I had to confess and ask the Father to forgive me for not listening. Ask Him to open my ears so I can hear. I know He is God and He speaks to me...I am so thankful to be reminded of that today!