"The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened. I do not rebel or turn away."
How easy is it for us to quickly offer a prayer when we are in need? I remember when praying was one of the most difficult things to do. While attending College (a Christian College) whenever we had group prayer, the last person who had their thumbs up was "elected" as the person to pray. It was always difficult. I was glad when one of my friends eventually asked whether this was right. It should be a privilege to be one to pray, and not to be "stuck with it". Looking back, I wonder if most of us was more afraid of God in our prayers, or what we had to say in front of friends? Prayer is primarily for God.
As we mature we come to realize that prayer is an easy part of every day of life. It is simply our conversation with our loving Father, and it can be done anywhere and at any time. However, our relationship... our communication is not just about speaking to the Lord. We must also listen. We must also spend time to listen to what He has to say to us. After all, He is not a "suggestion box" where we just leave our suggestions and requests. A relationship requires us to listen and to follow. Ah... yes, we need to "follow" as well. I recall a teacher asking if there was a difference between "hearing" and "listening". Indeed there is. Hearing is defined as "to perceive (sound) by the ear." Whereas listening is defined as "to make an effort to hear something" or "to pay attention." Listening takes hearing a step further through an "effort" to understand. This is true with reading Scripture. It is easy to simply read the words. It is another to make the effort to understand and let it dwell in our hearts. We need to listen, understand, and let His words live in us and through us.
No comments:
Post a Comment