Today's prompt is:'Listen'
START...
Prayerful thoughts on hearing from God
"Be still and know that I am God.." ~ Psalm 46:10
"Be still before Me. Quieten your mind and heart. Tune out distracting thoughts and tune in to My voice.
When you search within, My Spirit whispers to your own. I will not shout or overrule your will. Though there are times when My voice carries itself with greater clarity and urgency than others.
Listen regularly and you will develop an ability to discern My voice above the clamour of your own thoughts, above the noise of other voices speaking into your life.
When you become attuned to My voice, then you will realise that I am never silent. My word goes out to the ends of the earth continually.
I speak in many ways:through My Word, through other people, music and books; creation declares My voice loud and clear.
There is no place where I cannot be found and heard by those with ears to listen. And when you do, My still, small voice comforts, reassures, leads, guides, supports and helps you through everything you may encounter.
I am longing to hear from you, my child.
And I am waiting to speak into your life.
Are you listening?"
STOP.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world" ~ Psalm 19:1 - 4
How do you best hear from God?
What aids or hinders that process?
Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. You're very welcome to join in.
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In today's fast paced lifestyles it is hard to remember to take time and listen to God or any one for that matter. This is a nice reminder.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Amanda. In our fractured, easily distracted society it's not just God that we can fail to listen to with complete attentiveness. Thanks very much for stopping by and leaving such a pertinent comment.
DeleteDear Joy
ReplyDeleteOnce we have heard the voice of our heavenly Pappa and experienced His presence, nothing and no one else can ever satisfy our hearts. Oh, that we would be still and listen intently to the whole creation singing Hs praises.
Much love
Mia
Dear Mia, you speak so well from your heart's experience of knowing God and it finds an echo in my own. Quietening ourselves to listen is as much an act of obedience as it is of worship. Yet, if we fail to give Him due praise, then creation more than covers it. Much love and blessings to you. xx
DeleteDearest Joy,
ReplyDeleteHow beautifully you used the five available minutes, encouraging us to open our ears...and hearts...to the voice of God in a world full of noise! Soothing, inspiring, inviting!
Thank you!
Blessings and Light to you!
Katina
Hello Katina. I am delighted to see you here! Thank you so much for your lovely encouragement, my friend. Blessings xx :)
DeleteSuch beautiful word of encouragement you have shared today. I pray that I learn to quiet myself more and more often in order to hear from Him. Thank you
ReplyDeleteHi Amy. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts here. It is also my heart's prayer to "learn to quiet myself more" to hear from God. I really appreciate you stopping by! Blessings :)
DeleteI loved this! I loved it all, but this part was most beautiful to me : I speak in many ways:through My Word, through other people, music and books; creation declares My voice loud and clear.
ReplyDeleteThere is no place where I cannot be found and heard by those with ears to listen. And when you do, My still, small voice comforts, reassures, leads, guides, supports and helps you through everything you may encounter.
I am longing to hear from you, my child.
And I am waiting to speak into your life.
Are you listening?"
Thought provoking questions you asked. I suppose I hear from God best when I am not distracted by the daily noise and tasks at hand. When I have time to sit and be still. I also hear from God in other ways as you mentioned here..via people or phrases or writings he puts in my path, Via thoughts that pop in my head as I write my blog posts sometimes that seem to be messages from above for me to understand things or share, and there are more ways but these are the main ones. What aids the process is being an open vessel and being aware of it. Hunting for blessings, looking for the messages He wants to show me. What hinders it ..hmm..that is a tough one. I suppose attitudes and negativity can hinder it. Of course noise everywhere and being too busy can too!
Thought provoking and beautifully put. Thanks for engaging my thoughts!
Hi Rebekah. Thanks very much for the sweet encouragement. I am so pleased this spoke to you, my friend! And I'm truly grateful that you took time to ponder the questions and share the results with us here. In my experience, "people or phrases or writings he puts in my path...thoughts that pop in my head as I write blog posts sometimes" are all pathways God uses to speak to me too. Being open, alert, aware and receptive, coming to all we experience with an expectation that God wants to be involved and speak into our lives; these are all ways that help the process of hearing from Him. Conversely, negativity and independence that makes us feel we either don't want to hear or can go it alone, are ways to hinder that process. In the "daily noise" of life we may have to be pretty deliberate about seeking restful, quiet, undisturbed periods of time to engage meaningfully with God. Bless you for joining in and encouraging me to continue the conversation! :) xx
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