Give Me Ears to Hear

In 1 Samuel 23 (again with the ESV), we see the first example of one of the things that in my mind sets David apart and defines him as "A man after God's own heart).

Verse 2 begins, "Therefore, David inquired of the Lord..."

For me, this has always been one of the things that fascinates me about David. We constantly see over and over again that David inquires of the Lord. Sometimes, even when the answer seems obvious. There are one or two examples later in David's life when he did not inquire of the Lord and it led him to trouble.

I think a lot of times in our lives, we go through life - doing the best that we can, and when we run into problems we may pray about it a little bit. But how often do we "inquire of the Lord" before we set out on our way. It seems like a lot of people tell God what they are going to do and ask God to bless them in their endeavors rather than asking God first what they should do.

Another difficulty that we run into is the question of how we hear God speak. I actually did a sermon series on this recently check out our sermonplayer and search for "Connecting with God" if you want to listen (although the sermone.net site that hosts our sermons seemed to be having difficulties this morning). P.S. I want to give credit to Rick Warren at Saddleback - I based this sermon series on one of his teaching series called Can You Hear Me Now.

Anyway, if you don't want to listen to the whole thing here is a synopsis. God is speaking to us. If we want to hear him speak we need to know how He speaks:

God Speaks Through the Bible
God Speaks Through Gifted Teachers
God Speaks Through Godly Friends and Family
God Speaks Through Impressions from the Holy Spirit
God Speaks Through Pain - that's a tough one
and God Speaks Through Silence - another tough one.

But even if we know how God speaks we need to know how to hear Him. If we want to hear God speak we need to:

Haved a receptive heart - be willing to listen to God
Get alone in a quiet place
Calm our own thoughts and emotions - don't listen to our own fears and "GOOD IDEAS"
We need to take time to listen - don't just listen for the information that we are looking for, listen instead for the voice of God. Sometimes he tells us something that we don't really want to hear.
And we need to commit ourselves to being obedient and following God's lead, even when he tells us something that doesn't make sense. I promise you - your better idea is not better.

Anyway, I want to let you know - it takes time and practice to hear the voice of God and to recognize the voice of God. It is a life long journey and progression. Keep at it. And don't be afraid to do what David did in verse 4 if you are in doubt:

Verse 4 says "Then David inquired of the Lord again...". If you wonder about something, ask for confirmation - God will not resent your asking.