Psalm 85:8

I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people.

Listening is crucial to every part of life, but that doesn’t mean it is a simple process. It requires a huge amount of thought and care, so it isn’t surprising that courses in listening are widely available these days. There are essentially five stages to the listening process: receiving, understanding, evaluating, remembering and responding. I am sure the psalmist would have seen this as a good description of what it meant to “listen carefully” to the Lord. It’s possible to hear someone speaking without taking on board anything that they have said, but when you listen, you deliberately receive what they are saying. However, even that isn’t enough. You need to understand the words they are using. Without that, their words are nothing more than sounds. Having understood the words, they need to be evaluated. What exactly was the person trying to say, and how does it apply to you personally? When God speaks to us, we need to see how his words relate to our everyday lives. We then need to remember his words so that they continue to influence our thinking. However, all of this process is worth nothing unless we respond to what we have heard through our actions.

The Bible’s truths can wash over our heads and have absolutely no effect, or they can transform our lives. As I write these notes day by day, I am acutely aware that the key question is whether we are truly listening to what God is saying. We all hear many voices each day – from friends, family, colleagues, the media and so on – but the crucial question is whether we are giving quality time to listen to the voice of the living God.

Question

What could you do to help you to listen more fully to God’s voice day by day?

Prayer

Lord God, thank you that you are a God who speaks. Help me to listen more attentively to you each day. Amen