A:
Life and ministry had me running wild in every direction with priorities that were way out of whack. That is, until God used my two-year-old daughter, Erin, to get my attention. On one particular day Erin was running after me trying desperately to tell me something. I told her to follow me and talk. In exasperation, she raised her little voice and said, “Mommy! You’re not listening! Sit down and look at me!” I knew it wasn’t just Erin’s voice speaking to me. I had heard the voice of God through her and I knew I needed to learn the importance of stopping my activity and actively listening if I wanted to truly hear what He had to say to me through His Word.
STOP!
It’s hard to hear God’s voice while I’m running around. Like Martha in Luke 10:38-42, I don’t take time out from serving Jesus to sit at His feet and simply enjoy His companionship and hear His voice.
LOOK!
There is nothing more insulting than when I’m talking to somebody and he or she is checking his or her watch or looking over my shoulder. But that’s exactly what I did to Erin that day and what I tend to do to the Lord. He deserves my undivided attention, and He has some pretty incredible truths to share with me from His Word when I give it to Him. One thing I’ve put into practice to help keep me focused is prayer journaling. I pour out my heart and express my innermost thoughts in response to what I’ve read from His Word. When I do that my heart is more receptive to what He has to say to me.
LISTEN!
As Erin chased me around the house I could hear her, but was I truly listening? The answer is simply, no. The most intentional way that I have learned to keep my heart tender to God’s voice is by acting on His Word. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word...do what it says...” The more intentional I am about actively listening, at times through prayer with fasting, the more profoundly He speaks.
My heart has been truly blessed as I’ve learned to stop, look and listen to God’s voice. And thanks to a two year old I can genuinely say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam. 3:9).