[Faith-talk] Listening to God - In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley

[Everett Gavel]

Good Morning,

I found this devotional today, highly relevant to me - 
and thought it might prove the same to others.  It's 
possibly my weakest point.  I don't 'do' silence well, 
and almost always have something playing in the 
background when possible.  I'm sure there have been 
times I've not heard God when He's saying something 
specific to me.  How about you?  Read below and if 
you're up for it, share your thoughts?

God Bless Your Reading,
Everett



Listening to God
In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley - Nov. 21, 2008
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/in_touch/


~ Psalm 81:8-14 ~
8 "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you-- 
       if you would but listen to me, O Israel!
9 You shall have no foreign god among you;
       you shall not bow down to an alien god.
10 I am the LORD your God,
       who brought you up out of Egypt.
       Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11 "But my people would not listen to me;
       Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
       to follow their own devices.
13 "If my people would but listen to me,
       if Israel would follow my ways,
14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies
       and turn my hand against their foes!


Does the heavenly Father still speak to His children? 
It's a question that may be on your mind right now. We 
all have this need to know that the Lord is still 
communicating with us. We crave the certainty that He 
hears us--and that He answers.

In Psalm 81:8-14, we get a clear picture of God's 
heart: He yearns for Israel to listen to Him. Think 
about that. Here's the almighty Creator of the universe 
pleading with His chosen people to hear His voice. It 
almost doesn't make sense, does it? Why on earth would 
the Israelites turn a deaf ear to their sustaining, 
omnipotent heavenly Father?

However, God's message is sent to inattentive ears. He 
says, "Oh, Israel, if only you would listen to Me. But 
My people did not listen to My voice. Oh, that My 
people would listen to Me!" (Psalm 81:8-14, 
paraphrase).

Thousands of years later, I'm certain that same 
question still rings through heaven. We can practically 
hear the Lord saying, "Oh, church, if only you would 
listen to Me. But My church did not listen to My voice. 
Oh, that My church would listen to Me!"

No doubt, you've heard God say the same thing to you 
personally. We seem to fall out of touch with Him at 
times. We put ourselves in one corner and restrict the 
Lord to someplace "over there" and out of the way. We 
somehow seem to lose track of His voice in our lives. 
And yet, though we may not hear Him, He is still 
talking.

Quiet your spirit today. Open God's Word and invite Him 
to speak to you anew. And then, listen.