The Jewish concept of Shema is a fascinating study.  And as we understand this term, we begin to realize that Jesus had lots to say about “listening and doing” when it comes to God’s expectations of us.  In the Hebrew language, there is no separate word for “obey.”  There is the word “shema” which means that we listen to God and because God is the One speaking to us, we should naturally want to obey.  So this is my question to you, is your first inclination towards God obedience?  Think of it this way.  Is the reflex of your heart to obey God?  We’ve all been to the doctor when they take that little triangular shaped hammer and tap the tendon just below our knee cap.  We don’t try, we don’t act…but our leg swings up!  A reflex.  This series is about the renovation project that needs to happen in every heart so our desire reflex is only and always to obey, to do, to act when we hear God speaking to us — this is Project Hear.

Often we think of prayer as the thing we do when we need something from God. It's what we do when we open our mouths to speak to God about our desires. But prayer includes much more than that. It can also be the place of quiet expectation as we wait to hear what God wants to speak to us. In the Old Testament there's a story of a young boy named Samuel, who would become one of God's biggest mouth-pieces. But before he could speak on God's behalf, he needed to learn how to listen. Just like Samuel, we can find it difficult to discern the voice of God in our lives. But we can take cues from his example to discover how to be a better listener in prayer and in life.

The Jewish concept of Shema is a fascinating study.  And as we understand this term, we begin to realize that Jesus had lots to say about “listening and doing” when it comes to God’s expectations of us.  In the Hebrew language, there is no separate word for “obey.”  There is the word “shema” which means that we listen to God and because God is the One speaking to us, we should naturally want to obey.  So this is my question to you, is your first inclination towards God obedience?  Think of it this way.  Is the reflex of your heart to obey God?  We’ve all been to the doctor when they take that little triangular shaped hammer and tap the tendon just below our knee cap.  We don’t try, we don’t act…but our leg swings up!  A reflex.  This series is about the renovation project that needs to happen in every heart so our desire reflex is only and always to obey, to do, to act when we hear God speaking to us — this is Project Hear.