Listening to God is probably the most important thing we can do. John makes this clear in the letters to the 7 churches of Asia where the phrase ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22) is the conclusion to each letter. This merely echoes what Jesus also said when He was on earth (Matt 13:9, Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23-25) and also the message God frequently gave to the prophets (see Jer 23:3-6, Ezek 3:7)
Listening is more than simply hearing; we have a proverb reflecting this when we say something ‘goes in one ear and out the other.’ Ezekiel makes it clear that the problem is often being unwilling to hear what God is saying; Is 28:23 reminds us that we need to ‘pay attention’ to what we hear.
Communication needs active, alert listening as well as articulate, clear speech for it to be successful. If we are to pay attention and really hear God speak to us (something John 10 makes clear is God’s desire for us), then we will have to slow down sufficiently enough to listen and rid ourselves of all distractions. Background noise can crowd out God’s voice; we have to learn to be still before God long enough to hear His gentle whispers to our souls.
