Learning To Listen

Today, we celebrate the National Day of Prayer. Let’s not take for granted that we will always have the freedom to participate, but let us pray that we will. Pray that we as Christians will rest in the Lord and not fret over the short-lived success of evildoers. God tells us in His Word what to do when things like our current events take place. He calls us to be the light of the world, to focus on Him, and watch as He wins the victory on our behalf. When we respond God’s way, we won’t fall into the trap of reacting in a worldly way. (See 2 Chron. 20:3, 12, 15, 22; Psalm 37:7-8; Prov. 3:5-6; Matt. 5:43-48; 10:16-22; and 1 Peter 2:13-20.)

God is speaking all around us and actively at work in our world. Not only that, but He invites us to walk with Him and obey Him when He speaks to us. Are you hearing God’s voice on a regular basis? Would you like to?

“The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice" (John 10:3-4, ESV).

We must learn to hear the voice of the Lord and walk in confidence that He is directing our path. When we devote ourselves to listening and discerning God's voice, He will open the doors to marvelous and miraculous moments of His divine work in our midst. No doubt the days ahead will grow darker and the struggles around us will increase. But when we follow the leading of the Lord, we will represent truth, hope, and the light of Christ to a lost and fearful world.

Jesus Himself was devoted to saturating Himself in prayer and the truth of the Word. The evidence of this became especially clear just prior to His darkest moment in life. Because He was so intimately connected with His Father, He knew the prophetic events to come in His impending death. He prepared His disciples by telling them how they would respond - that they would scatter in fear and leave Him alone.

Jesus prayed with confidence and assurance as He prepared both Himself and His beloved disciples. In John 17, He prayed that the Father would be glorified through His life. He prayed for the care, protection, and unity of the disciples. He prayed that the love of God would saturate them. And He prayed for us, as those who have also found faith in Him. Jesus' prayers are still being answered in our day!

In the same way, we must prepare ourselves to fulfill God's Kingdom purposes by listening to the Lord and walking in obedience to everything He instructs us to do. To learn to truly hear His voice, we must saturate ourselves with the truths of His Word. We must deepen our intimacy with Him by spending much time alone in fellowship with Him through prayer, as well as corporately in community with other believers in Jesus Christ.

As we walk in communion with God we can know that today would "be a good day to fly."