Tag: Hearing God

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Done Talking

Daily Reading

Amos 6-9

Daily Thought

Amos did not ask to be a prophet, especially a prophet to neighboring Israel. “I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’” (Amos 7:14-15). God said go, Amos obeyed, and the people of Israel should have listened, but they refused, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel” (Amos 7:12-13). Israel should be careful what she asks for.

My dad could lecture, “I’ve talked to you and talked to you.” We knew we had more time. Dad could talk; truly an artist at work. “I’ve talked to you and talked to you until I’m blue in the face.” This was the high point of the lecture. He really did turn blue. Still, no worries, as long as he kept talking. “I’ve talked to you and talked to you until I’m blue in the face, and now I’m done talking to you.” Uh oh.

God had talked and talked to Israel. Amos cries, “Thus says the Lord,” eight times in the first two chapters (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6). Each of the next three chapters begins with God speaking to Israel, “Hear this word.” Israel did not. She will wish she had. If you stop listening to God, it is bad, but if God stops talking to you, it is over. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land–not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). God was done talking. “They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it” (Amos 8:12).

As long as Dad was talking, he was still trying to straighten us out. There was still hope. When the talking stopped, hope vanished. Then came judgment.

Daily Prayer

Lord God, thank You for Your Word. It guides me in life, leading me down the right path.

Too often, though, it may appear that I’m not listening to You. Probably because I’m not. I take You for granted, or I follow some silly notion that I have a better idea about life than You do. Please, God, do not give up on me. Thank You for Your patience and endurance. I need Your Word. Keep speaking, and I will develop the heart of Your Son, who said He does not live by bread alone, but by every Word You speak.

Amen

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Only God

Daily Reading

Psalm 140-145

Daily Thought

In Psalm 141, we hear a man pleading for purity. King David almost commands God to attend to him, “Give ear to my voice when I call you!” (Psalm 141:1), an exclamation mark rightly placed at the end–a reverent “Listen to me when I talk to you” would be an accurate translation. David wants help from God, “Set a guard, O Lord” (v 3), and from the godly, “Let a righteous man strike me–it is a kindness” (v 5).

Another time, another king, King Ahab, an evil king, was going to war. He asked King Jehoshaphat, a righteous king, to join him. Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” King Ahab had 400 prophets who said “Yes.” They always said “Yes.” Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” Ahab said there was one other, “…but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil” (1Kings 22:5, 7-8).

An evil king wants to hear only good. A righteous king wants to hear only God; “let him rebuke me–it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it” (Psalm 141:5).

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You know the beginning and the end, Your words are wise and good, and You lead into righteousness those who are willing to follow.

God, I will make time each day to read Your Word. Speak to me. May Your Word reveal any rebelliousness in me and may it teach, reprove, correct, and train me to be righteous.

Amen

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A Rare Word

Daily Reading

1Samuel 1-3

Daily Thought

“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men”–God’s Word speaks with a beautiful bluntness–”They did not know the Lord” (1Samuel 2:12). A terrible resume for priests, and Hophni and Phinehas did terrible things for which they both would die on the same day and be replaced by “a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind” (1Samuel 2:35). God raises up this faithful priest, Samuel, in the next chapter.

Notice how the next chapter begins, 1Samuel 3:1, “And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision”; and ends, verse 21, “And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” The Hebrew reads literally, “the Lord appeared increasingly.” There is movement in Israel; God is beginning to visit again. What prompted this is found between the first and last verses. Samuel, yet a boy, displays a heart for God’s Word. He listens for it, he receives it, and he faithfully and fully passes it along to others. “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground” (v 19), a fine resume for a priest or prophet. “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord.” God speaks more often when leaders listen and do what he says.

Daily Prayer

Eternal God, You have made me a temple of Your Spirit. You live in me! I pray my words, my actions, my every thought reflect Your character so fully that Your kingdom is made evident to the world, that You are praised because others glimpse heaven, that not a Word you speak to me falls to the ground.

By Your grace and Your goodness, by Your righteousness and the Holy Spirit who indwells me, may I be filled with Your love. May I listen to Your words, know Your thoughts, follow Your heart, because hearing without doing is not listening. And so in my doing what You say, may others hear Your voice, think your thoughts, and give you their heart.

Amen