A Heart that Listens

“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

Mark 4:23

Those words are repeated throughout the gospels and Revelations.  A reminder that it is not enough to have ears but that we use them as well.  So many times, we hear the Word spoken but we do not truly hear and allow it to take root in our hearts.  However our hearts cannot be ready if there are those things, hearts that have become hardened, shallow lives or fretful minds, that are keeping us from missing the ultimate message He wants us to hear.  

How long has it been or have you ever let God actually have you? Have you ever given Him the opportunity to have uninterrupted time with you to speak where you were actually listening? Even Jesus knew that it was important to spend time with God.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”.

Mark 1:35

So the obvious question is simply this, if Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless One thought it important to put everything else aside and spend time in prayer with His Father, why is it that we do not find it imperative to do the same?  Jesus not only spent time praying but He also spent time in His Father’s Word.  He found it important to not only spend time talking with God but studying the Word as well. Why do we not also find those things important?

Here is where this gets a bit personal.  Many tune out when the suggestion of a quiet time is mentioned.  Most of us spend time trying to find time to squeeze God into our busy schedules instead of making Him the priority.  We check Him off of our to-do list. Some avoid spending time alone with God because they become  frustrated from a lack of understanding with what they are reading and others avoid time alone all together because they believe that they will gain what they need from a Sunday morning sermon or the reading of some Christian book. The problem with all of this is that it is coming second hand.  When you rely on those things, you are experiencing someone else’s personal time with God.  You have missed your own special encounter with Him.  God wants each of us to have our own first-hand experience with Him not a substitute because He longs to be with each of us every day.  Our desire should be that He be the highlight of our life every day.  God give us ears that want to hear and hearts that long for time spent with You!