Tag Archives: hearing God

Thirsty for God

11 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in Monday Meditation, Psalms

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As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God. In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God (Psalm 42:1-2, CEV).

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Flowing Streams — photo by David Kitz

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is thirst.

Our bodies crave water. That’s only natural since our bodies are over 90% water. We can go more than 60 days without food, but only about 10 days without water.

The question I have for you is how long can you go without God? How long can you go without communicating with Him? How long can you go without hearing from God? The psalmist had a constant craving for God.

As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God. In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God (Psalm 42:1-2, CEV).

As I am writing this post, I occasionally  pause to take a sip of water. In the same way we should routinely find our hearts and minds turning to the Lord. Prayer and open communication with the Lord should be as natural for us as that sip of coffee or whatever beverage you crave.

In my heart I am thirsty for you, the living God. Can you say the same? I hope so.

Response: LORD God, give me a constant craving for you. I want to speak to you and hear from you. Be an essential of life for me, just like that thirsty deer. Amen.

Your Turn: Do you have a desire to hear from God and be close to Him?

Are your ears open?

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Psalm 40, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 40

 (Verses 6-10)

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—     

but my ears you have opened—     

burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—     

it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;     

I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know.

I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;     

I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.

I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness     

from the great assembly. (NIV)

 Reflection

The first half of today’s psalm reading is quoted directly in Hebrews 10:5-7. The writer of the Book of Hebrews saw Jesus as the prophetic fulfillment of this passage. Jesus became the necessary sacrifice for the sins of the world. When God came to earth in bodily form as the babe of Bethlehem, He came clothed in humanity. Jesus came with his ears wide open to the voice of his heavenly Father. He came to do His Father’s will. For Jesus the Father’s will meant going to the whipping post and climbing the hill of Golgotha to die in agony on the cross. That was the sacrifice the Father desired.

Gatineau Park -- David Kitz

Gatineau Park — David Kitz

Has God opened your ears to His voice? Have you loved God until it hurt? It hurt Jesus to do His Father’s will. If we are Jesus’ disciples, should we expect better treatment than our Master? Often what we hear preached is a sugar-coated gospel that asks little of us. Jesus asked his disciples for their lives. He said, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37-39).

Have you lost your life for the sake of Jesus? Now, that’s a high calling with a steep price attached.

Are your ears open to God’s calling? There are times when I don’t want to hear God’s voice. That’s why I don’t seek Him in prayer. He may tell me something I don’t want to hear. All too often, I am His reluctant servant. I would rather do my will than His will. He must change my desires. My desires must become His desires. Only then can I serve with joy. Jesus’ desire was always to do his Father’s will. From an early age he was about his Father’s business, fulfilling His Father’s plan for His life.

Whose plan are you following?

Response: LORD God, help me to truly hear and obey your voice. I want to be your disciple, Lord Jesus. Thank you for your great sacrifice by which you purchased my redemption. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you heard God’s voice and walked away? He doesn’t give up easily. He renews His call.

The LORD Speaks

05 Monday May 2014

Posted by in Psalm 32, Psalms

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Reading:                                     Psalm 32

(Verses 8-11)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;     

I will counsel you and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule,     

which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle     

or they will not come to you.

Many are the woes of the wicked,     

but the LORD’s unfailing love     

surrounds the one who trusts in him.

Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;     

sing, all you who are upright in heart! (NIV)

 Reflection

In Psalm 32 God speaks back. David begins this psalm and we clearly can hear his voice addressing us, as he tells how wonderful it is to be forgiven. He then goes on to speak of his own struggle with unconfessed sin. Finally, he tells us of the great relief he experienced as he is pardoned and restored to a place of close fellowship with the LORD. But then abruptly in verse eight, we hear a different voice. God is speaking. The LORD responds to what David has said. Through this psalm David is modelling true prayer. This psalm is two-way communication.

We have heard David’s words; let’s hear God’s words now. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Clearly this is not the voice of David. David is not going to counsel and watch over us. This is the work of the LORD. The LORD will teach and guide us. It is His role to shepherd the flock of His pasture.

These words, from verse eight to the end of this psalm are coming from the LORD. David has heard God speak, and now he is passing on this message from the LORD directly to us. In this respect David is fulfilling the role of a prophet. He is acting as God’s spokesperson. In fact in Acts 2:30, Peter asserts that David was a prophet. And what is a prophet? In the simplest terms, it is someone who hears God, and then passes on God’s message to others.

Do you hear God? This is no idle, rhetorical question. It is essential to our Christian faith that we as believers hear the voice of God. I would go so far as to say, that you cannot experience salvation unless you first hear God. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” John 10:27-28a (NIV).

In short, we must be able to hear Jesus in order to follow Him, and it is in following Him that we receive eternal life. Hearing God’s voice is of paramount importance.

Response: LORD God, give me ears to hear what you have to say to me. Please instruct me and teach me in the way I should go. Then give me grace to obey. I put my trust in you, O LORD. Amen.

Your Turn: Do you hear God’s voice? How does He speak to you?

Does God hear you when you pray?

18 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in Psalm 27, Psalms

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Reading:                                       Psalm 27

(Verses 7-14)

Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;

Be merciful to me and answer me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger;

You have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Saviour.

Though my mother and father forsake me,  

The LORD will receive me.

Teach me your way, O LORD;

Lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,

For false witnesses rise up against me breathing out violence.

I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;

Be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (NIV)

 Reflection

Is God listening? Do I have His full attention? Is He even there? Even people of great faith ask questions such as these. Listen to David’s plea, “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD.”

David’s psalms are replete with calls for God to listen and then quickly respond to his cries for help. These pleas for a listening ear happen with such frequency throughout the Book of Psalms that one can be forgiven for wondering if God is deaf. In our minds we know that this is an absurd proposition. He who formed the ear can surely hear the faintest whispered prayer or unvoiced thought. But despite what our intellect knows, we still plead for His listening ear. Along with David we cry out, “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.”

I suspect that the problem in prayer is not that we are speaking to a deaf God, but rather we, the petitioners, are deaf to his answers. The patriarchs and prophets of old heard the voice of God. They conversed with the LORD Almighty. Many of these conversations are recorded verbatim in the Old Testament. A fine example of this is found in Exodus as Moses speaks with the LORD at the burning bush. Have we lost the ability to hear God? Has a great collective deafness settled across humanity?

In a cold world filled with rejection, there is a God. There is a God of mercy that the lonely soul can turn to. There is one who understands. There is one who listens to our anguished prayers. We can join with David and say, “Though my mother and father forsake me, the LORD will receive me.”

Response: Lord God, this is my confession, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” I will, “Wait for the LORD.” I will, “Be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Amen.

Your Turn: Are there times when you doubt that God is listening to your prayers? How do you know He is there?