Are you listening?

Father God, I give you glory, honour and praise!  Jesus Christ You and You alone have my heart.  Welcome Holy Spirit, You are my every breath.  Amen!

Do you remember how many times your parents told you not to do something and then you still did it.  Afterwards, you might have fallen from the tree, bumped your head or burnt your fingers.  Yes, that is part of growing up I guess.  When we were young we thought we knew it all and when our parents tried to tell us that they talk from experience, we laughed it off; only to find many years later that they were right.  Why then does this “picture” keep on repeating itself over generations?  Is it about ego, being Mr/Ms know it all or is it simply that we hear but are not listening and taking action upon what we heard?

Today’s article is looking at one of the reasons why so many things go wrong in our life.  God is very clear in James 1:19, saying “everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”  Quick to listen tells me that there is an action involved.  It is not just to hear it, it is to pay attention to what has been heard.  The online dictionary indicates the meaning of hear as “be told or informed of” and the meaning of listen as “pay attention.”  What is clear here is that God does not just want us to hear Him, but to pay attention to what He is saying and then to take action upon that Word.

His Word is His promise of hope, joy, peace and blessing to our lives.  We need to hear it, listen to what is said and then do it in order to see the effect in our lives.  For example, God’s Word says that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).  In order for it to be effective, you need to pray and you need to be made righteous, which is what happens when you give your life to Jesus.  So it is not just to read the Word but the pay attention to what it says and then to do it.  Sounds easy right?  The question is, do we do it?

Some scriptures in the Bible referring to hearing, listening and taking action are as follows:

Luke 11:28

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Jer 29:12

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Prov 16:20

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.”

Phil 4:9

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.”

Mal 2:2

“If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will  send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings.  Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.”

1 Sam 15:24

“Saul disobeyed God in a battle with the Amalekites, sparing the enemy’s king and the best of their livestock, when Samuel had ordered Saul to destroy everything.  God was so grieved that he rejected Saul and chose another king.”

Gen 2 – 3

God spoke and gave instructions to Adam and Eve, whose disobedience had serious repercussions.

Dear reader, it is very clear when reading and studying these scriptures, that when we hear the Word, receive the Word, pay attention to it and then act upon it, we see results.  However, when ignoring or disobeying it, it has repercussions.  Now we must remember that as reborn Christians, we no longer live under the law and therefore in Christ Jesus we have been made righteous (2 Cor 5:21).  What we have to remember is that in order to avoid sadness, failure and discomfort in our lives, we should not ignore taking action on God’s Word.  It is alive and when put into action, souls are saved, finances and marriages are restored, self-confidence increases and blessings are poured out beyond human understanding.

My question to you today is how often do you only hear what is going on around you without listening?  How many times do you hear and listen, but you do not take action?  When last did you stop, and listen with your heart?  There are people around you every day and without saying a word, their hearts and actions speak loudly.  Some call for help and salvation; others need guidance and support.  Are we so busy that we don’t even hear, and if we do hear, do we keep pending in our diaries that we will still go and help them?  I challenge you today to start hearing, listening and taking action on firstly what the Word of God tells you to do and believe in it.

Remember “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard though the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17).  Secondly in your every-day life, hear and listen to the hearts of your loved ones, family, colleagues and yes even your enemies.  Even your enemies have hearts and were created in God’s image.  Somewhere, something went wrong in their lives and by taking the time to look and listen deeper, the Holy Spirit will reveal their need for healing to you.  All you then need to do is take action, as guided by the Holy Spirit.  It might be forgives or just prayer but either way, it will bring healing.

The world is aching and people are thirsty for God.  Are you listening?

Lots of love

Princess K

PS:  Dear reader, please remember that the scripture used are from the New International Version.  If the scripture is read in another language and translation it might differ slightly.  A verse in the NIV might be a different one in your Bible, i.e. Ps 37:3 in the NIV might be Ps 37:4 in your bible.  This does not always occur, but happens in some instances.