If you were asked by someone whether you are a good listener or not, what would your response be? I think this is one area that we probably all would rate ourselves higher in than perhaps we actually are. If you had to score yourself out of 10, how would it compare with what people who know you best would say? If you ever do any counselling sessions with anyone, one of the things they talk about and encourage is “active listening”. That is, listening with intent and ensuring by reflecting back that you have actually heard what the other person is saying. The next step of course is to put in to practice or take on board the message you have heard! I think often we tune others out and pretend we are listening more than we really are. You may have had the experience of talking with someone and watching as they nod their head or look interested when in reality you know they are not really paying attention. If in doubt follow their eyes. In marriages we can easily switch off listening to the other and by the time we have been married a few years we don’t hear them or pay attention to them in the same way we did on our first date. It can be the same with us and God’s Spirit.
In our series on the letters to the churches in Revelation, there is a repeated call to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches”. This is a clear call, in some ways almost a question; have you heard what I am saying, have you paid attention, are you going to put it into practice? Because if you don’t there will be consequences, ranging from stagnation through to even loss of faith and relationship with God. Just as we tune out to others or talk over others or wander in our thoughts when someone is speaking to us, we tend to do exactly the same thing with the Holy Spirit. So my question to you is this. Are you actively listening to God? Are you seeking to hear what the Spirit might be saying to you personally and to us as a church? Or are you distracted, wandering off, or just completely disinterested like a stale marriage?
If we are serious about hearing from the Spirit, there are two main things I believe will help. Firstly, we must have a posture of listening and intentional focus toward God. This means time away from distraction, giving God our best not our scraps or left overs. Secondly we acknowledge that we need God to help open our ears. In Psalm 40:6 the psalmist says this: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened”. The more literal translation is “my ears you have dug out”. God is not interested in our acts of service or sacrifice if we are not wanting to hear from him. Relationship (communication) is what he desires most, not our offering, our coming to church, our being on a roster or skim reading a few bits of the Bible occasionally, and shooting up the odd desperation prayer. He wants to speak to us but we need him to help dig out our ears.
What blocks our ears is like wax, the things that slowly build up over time that we don’t even notice, but which eventually lead us to not being able to hear from the Spirit. What blockages are there in your life that might be presently preventing you from hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and to you personally? Busyness, focus on other things, distraction, watching too much TV, putting family or work above your desire for God? If you really want to hear from the Spirit and this is the deep desire of your heart, then do two things. Place yourself in a regular posture of attentive listening, and secondly begin to ask God to dig our your ears and give them a good flush. To put his finger on anything that has built up or got in the way of hearing his voice. Then keep doing this and see what happens.
Grace and Peace - Garry