Learning to Hear God

One of the most basic claims of Christianity is that God speaks to people. All through the Bible
you see the phrase, "And God said..." This idea is used about 500 times. With the frequency you get the impression God wants to speak to people.

Yet most would say “I hardly ever to never hear God speaking to me.” Is it that He is not speaking or we are not listening or misunderstanding? Come to think of it I often misunderstand my wife, so why would I always “get” God. Apparently the disciples didn’t always get Jesus, in fact there were several places Jesus was saying one thing and the disciples were hearing something totally different.

How do we get to that place we really can begin to connect and dialogue with God? After all there is no relationship with people, even God, without communication.
In Luke 8:4-18 Jesus shares the Parable of the Sower. In a way these soils represent four mental attitudes. I would say from time to time we pass through all these soils. Sometimes we are very open to what God would say and sometimes we’re very closed. But hopefully if we stay in the process we can be those seed that falls on good soil.

The whole point of the parable is about HEARING. He concludes the parable by saying “Therefore, take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him (v. 18).” The word hear is used with every soil type (v.12,13,14,15); emphasizing Jesus point how are you hearing His word?

If you are truly going to hear and communicate you have to cultivate an open mind. One of the reasons I believe many do not hear God speak or sense His presence is that they have never been open to the possibility of it. Maybe you have heard “that was then, this is now…we don’t believe He will or wants to speak.” When you have a close mind, obviously God is not going to get through. We hold on to some pride, bitterness, and even fear and we harden up and the devil comes and takes that word from us.
The second soil reflects a shallow heart. The Middle East only had about 2-3 inches of top soil and during the heat of summer the plant withered. The emphasis is on a shallow hearing. They heard the word with joy but never got beyond that, you have to give time to listen. Try having a rushed conversation with someone, doesn’t work too well when you have a lot to share. The God of the universe longs for relationship, He has much to say and we are saying God I can give you five minutes. His word never gets beyond a nice initial feeling.

In the third soil Jesus shows us that if you are going to hear His Word you are going to have to eliminate or minimize distractions. The reason we can’t hear is because we are preoccupied with worries, acquiring wealth, or pleasure. Jesus says they are like weeds choking the word. My garden has been overridden with weeds the last 3 years. Weeds are a sign of neglect. You want to hear from God? Be proactive, make time to listen and let go of the weeds in your mind.

So how is your listening? The last soil reflects those that not only are listening but are willing to do what He says. Many want to hear and then decide whether they want to do it. We got to be willing to not only listen but also to cooperate with Him. May we be like Samuel as he struggle to understand God speaking simply said “speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening” (1 Samuel 3:10)