LISTEN

In the beginning…God said…

Genesis is the first book of the Bible and makes it clear that God speaks to us as He begins the litany of His Word and creates the universe. The Scriptures continue with other references to the Word of God coming to us at different times in history. “God said…” the prophets warned the people when they had strayed from God. They refused to listen and suffered the consequences of indifference to their One True God.

What are we to do with God’s Word? We are to listen! In the Hebrew, to listen means to hear and obey. When you hear the Word of God and listen and obey, you will follow the path God has set before you. Your faith will be strong, your love shall be great, your thoughts pure, your words kind. Compassion will fill your heart. The beauty of God’s universe will overwhelm you. His unconditional love will humble you.

The Psalms also ask us to listen. Psalm 46:11 commands that we “Be still and know that I am God.” If we are “still” we are listening. If we are listening, wisdom comes to us (Psalm 49:4) and we know that God is our Father-Creator, the one who fights for us, our protector, the one who saves us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

King Solomon did not ask for riches when the Lord God appeared to him in a dream and informed him he could ask for something from God and it would be his (1 Kings 3:5). He asked for a “listening (understanding) heart” so that he could rule wisely. He chose to listen to God and was granted wisdom and built a beautiful temple to honor the Lord and where the Lord would dwell among His people.

We might not have a dream or vision in which God speaks to us directly, but as we pray we can ask for a listening heart. By listening in prayer we will know God in the Biblical sense, since intimacy with God means that He is within us. “Abide” is a word that John uses frequently in his Gospel to illustrate how the Father is always with us. Abide has a beautiful connotation of resting and remaining within a dwelling. Just as the Tabernacle Tent in the Exodus desert was a sanctuary where Yahweh God would “dwell in their midst,” in the very heart of their community, the dwelling became a sign of God’s love and protection as the Israelites trudged through the desert (Exodus 25:8).

When we pray, we are inviting our Lord to “abide” in us. He is literally setting up a “tent” or “tabernacle” in our heart where He remains with us always. Christ abides in the depths of our soul where He speaks to us and this is where we go in prayer to abide and listen to Him.

We can speak to God at different times, in different places and in many ways. After formal prayer or spontaneous requests, we should make time to listen to Him as well. “Be still,” the Psalmist asks of us. When we are still the silence can envelop us and surround us with the peace and quiet and calm we need to endure our every day experiences. Joy is in the silence of prayer as we abide in the presence of God.

It is fitting that after we listen, we conclude our quiet prayer time with a proclamation of gratitude and praise. We are to thank God for all His blessings, mercy and love. We are to praise him with all the love in our hearts.

Pray, listen, obey, and give thanks and praise. Enter the silence of prayer and rejoice in the Lord!

Alma Maish