“The word of the Lord came to Elijah… “I will send rain upon the earth.”
That was the foundation of that persistent praying and sevenfold
watching on the mountaintop. First the ear heard, then the voice
persistently claimed, and the eye expectantly looked. First the voice of
God, then the voice of man. That is the true order. Tremendous results
always follow that combination.” S. D. Gordon
In order to pray God’s will, it is crucial that we hear His voice clearly.
is terribly frustrating. Likewise, God wants us to learn to listen to
Him. As we spend time before Him in quiet listening we are able to pray
His will more fervently and with greater expectation, hitting the target
effectively. We need to be certain of hitting our target as we pray for
the situations we see around us.
When you give God time in
listening prayer, He will direct your prayers strategically, even when
you don’t realize it. He will help you to proclaim His will in your
prayers, and your level of faith will increase. God has so much to say
to us daily, but often we can’t hear the fine, quiet tones of His voice.
Think about these questions as you evaluate your personal relationship with God:
- Are you able to endure silence?
- Are you tuned into hearing God’s still, small voice?
- Are you able to listen attentively to what He is saying above all the noise of your world?
He can’t tell us things because our hearing needs repair or we are
not taking the time to listen. He often can’t speak into our lives
because we are not ready or able to discern the treasures of what He has
to say to us. As we could not communicate with my father’s
hard-of-hearing guests, God may feel the same way with us. He can’t
share His secrets because we are not listening or are distracted. We are
not able to hear Him whispering in our ear. As a result, we are the
ones who miss out and have chosen the lesser thing. And our expectation
of what God can do does not increase.
Listening prayer builds expectation.
Notice the difference between Mary and Martha in Luke 10:39-41, “She had
a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he
said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be
made… ‘Martha, Martha’, the Lord answered, ‘you are worried about many
things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.'”
Mary listened and sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha worked.
“As you
study your Bible, you may sense that God has something to say directly
to you through the verses you are reading. Take a moment to consider the
awesome reality that the God who spoke and created the universe is now
speaking to you. If Jesus could speak and raise the dead, calm a storm,
cast out demons, and cure the incurable, then [imagine] what effect a
word from Him [would] have upon your life?”
[written by Debbie Przybylski]
