Sit And Listen

People have lost the art of listening. Have you ever been in conversation with someone and they were distracted by everyone else walking around, their cell phone, or preoccupied with the time. Obliviously they were not listening. In our fast paced society listening is not high on the priority list. People prefer texting to talking.

Do a little experiment. Right now, what do you hear? Make a mental note of every sound. Music? Television? Children? Traffic.? Now do a little further experiment. Shout down all distractions.  Immerse yourself in silence. Now what do you hear? For me? I hear the rhythmic ticking of a clock. I hear the clicking of the keys on this computer. I hear birds chirping outside. I hear a plane flying over my house. I hear my neighbor's saw buzzing in the garage.  I even hear the growling in my stomach and the sounds of the winds blowing outside.

We can train ourselves to really listen. We can cultivate the art of listening. My point today is not about listening to other people, though that is important. My focus is on listening to God. Many worship. Many have devotions. How many hear from God? Many read the Bible. Many pray. How many truly hear from God? We all need to train our spiritual ears to hear from Him in a world filled with noise and distractions.

Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
³⁸  Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
³⁹  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
⁴⁰  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
⁴¹  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
⁴²  but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

This is a familiar story. What captures my attention in this story is Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. In that culture sitting below a reacher was a sign of respect for the teacher's authority. She sat and there listened to His teaching. I can just see her hanging onto every word Jesus spoke. She sat and soaked. 

That is what we all need to do. We need to sit in Jesus' presence and listen to Him. He speaks through His word. He reveals truth, gives revelation, and offers guidance. He rebukes, comforts, renews, and reveals His will. He speaks. He is a communicating God. From Genesis to Revelation God communicates with people. 

God spoke to Samuel in I Samuel 3:10. He spoke to Elijah at the entrance of the cave in I Kings 19 in a small voice. We are always in such a hurry. We rush through life. Sitting and listening to Jesus takes a slower pace, a willingness to be still and know He is God. [Ps 46:10]

We prefer the productions of modern church worship services than the stillness and solitude of the prayer closet. Sitting with Jesus and listening in the prayer closet takes time. Time many people are not willing to give. Quick pithy devotions are the order of the day. You cannot rush intimacy with your Savior. 

To sit and listen means to give Jesus our undivided attention. It means we read the scripture slowly, meditatively,  and with listening spiritual ears. Jesus wants our undivided attention. That is hard to do in this age. We do not do sit still well. We are surrounded by noise. We are surrounded by constant motion and activity. We are used to television, cell phones, social media, texting, emails, tweets, and streaming videos. One sure way not to hear from Jesus is to immerse yourself in all of these distractions. 

Now Martha on the other hand was busy preparing the meal. She was also stewing because Mary was not helping. Eventually she stormed in the room and interrupted Jesus with a demand that He command Mary to come help her. 

Jesus' words in reply were piercing. She was distracted. Distracted by all her preparations. Cooking the meal was important. Meals don't prepare themselves. It just wasn't;'t the most important. The meal could have been cooked later after listening to Jesus. 

It really comes down to priorities. Most people are busy. TOO BUSY. Sitting and listening seems like a bad investment on our time. Not from Jesus' perspective. It is the best use of time. It should be our most important time of the day. 

Only one this is required, Jesus wants our love and relationship. He wants to listen to our prayer concerns. He also wants to speak to us. What He has to say to us is more important than what we have to say to Him. SO WE SHOULD MAKE TIME TO LISTEN. 

I have seen people so attached to their phones they cannot resist reading a text message even in mid conversations with another. While writing this I received a text message from a former HPU student inviting me to come preach at her church. We live in a world of instant communication. Sitting and listening to Jesus does not always happen instantaneously. It does not even happen quickly at times. If a person perseveres and cultivates of the art of listening with spiritual ears he or she can hear from God. I know. I just heard from Him this morning reading about the life of Gideon. So let us all pray the prayer of Samuel, "God, please speak for your servants are listening."