I wonder how many times I think for God; rather, than listen
to God. Certainly, God works with in the realm of our thoughts. Some folks have
tried to associate our conscience with the Holy Spirit. I am not confident that
this is a good approach. Conscience can be deceptive and is driven by many
selfish variables. Conscience is something that is a part of our psychological
make up. We know that there are folks who display no conscience at all, we
would then have to assume that God is not trying to communicate with them. This
would be a hard argument to make biblically.
It is important to remember that God wholly exists separate from
us. Even when we are joined in communion with him, we do not become God;
rather, God indwells us with his Holy Spirit. In fact, we speak of the witness
of the Holy Spirit, and being taught by the Holy Spirit. This would imply that
the witness and the teaching are something that is not natural to us, but
introduced by someone other than ourselves.
While we are one with the triune God we do not become God. Therefore,
he speaks to us. I suppose this seems very academic, but it has huge
implications. If God speaks to me in my conscience, then the thoughts we have
concerning him are just a natural part of who we are. We need not listen because
it is a natural impulse. Scripture is pretty clear that God’s thoughts are not
our thoughts. God’s ways are not our ways. Therefore, we must practice
listening to God. It would seem that scripture teaches us that hearing and
responding to God are not a natural part of who we are, but are based on a
relationship of trust.
How then do we listen to God? Well, listening requires
focused attention. God speaks in various ways. He may inspire a thought through
his Word (the Bible), through another person, or any number of ways. No matter
how God speaks to us, we must have ears to hear. This comes through the
practice of listening. Prayer is often thought of as speaking to God. Listening
is an act of silence. Once we sense God may be inspiring a thought, we must
then verify that thought based on the Word of God, through the Body of Christ, and/or
the affirmation of the Holy Spirit.
I suppose it all sounds very complex. The reality is that as
we practice listening we get better at hearing. He begins to transform us by
renewing our minds. That is, we become more attune to his voice the more we
spend time listening to him. The great risk is that we stop listening to him
and we begin hearing our own voice of what we think he would say. Jesus showed
us that through the whole of his ministry he returned again and again to the
Father so that he could hear the Father’s will. He didn’t do, say, or judge anything
that did not first come from his Father. Jesus, didn’t make assumptions.
Perhaps today I need to set aside some quality time to sit
at the feet of Jesus and listen for his voice. If I can practice listening to
him in a quiet place, I will become more attuned to his voice in the noisy
places of my day.
Just a thought.
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