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Day two: New ears so we can hear. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD has made even both of them. Who are we listening to and accepting things that are not Gods word. Be careful to hear what God is saying. Are we listening to the word or are we just reading for knowledge? Who does God say we are?
Thoughts: Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear. Prov. 25:12. How can listen and receive discipline from God?
How can we be more than just hearers of the word? No ear has heard what God has prepared for us.
The primary way that God speaks to us today is through His revealed, written Word. When we want to hear God’s voice, the Bible is where we should look. Most of the will of God for our lives is already fully revealed in its pages, and it is simply a matter of our obedience to it. All of Scripture is the will of God, but there are a few places in Scripture that specifically use the term will of God, which may be especially interesting to a person who wants to hear God’s voice:
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
• 1 Peter 2:12–15: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”
Because if you are a believer, you cannot live with only using your natural eyes. Natural eyes don’t see everything. You will get discouraged if the only thing you see is what is around you in the natural. You need to see beyond the temporal things. If you are a believer and you never use your spiritual ears. You are going to be wandering around, tossed about by every circumstance of life.
In order to live a life that honors God we need to be willing to move and act and speak in faith as a result of what our spiritual eyes and ears see.
Have you ever looked at the circumstances of your life just with the natural eyes and cried up to the Lord? What are we going to do now?
The bills are greater than the income.
The ministry seems to be struggling
You feel surrounded.
You feel outnumbered.
And in the natural, all signs say, nothing can turn this around. What you need is to walk by faith and see with the eyes of faith.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,”
Philippians 1:9-10
Instead of saying, “God told me this,” a better approach would be to say, “I think God may be saying this—what do you think?
Once again, the written Word of God is the standard by which all thoughts, actions, ideas, and feelings must be judged.
Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? Mark 8:18
Ears that hear and eyes that see— the Lord has made them both.”
Proverbs 20:12
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. Matthew 13:16
Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:”
Jeremiah 5:21
God is not a God of confusion. Teach us hear your voice and not our emotions.
Our flesh is strong but you are stronger LORD!
Listening and hearing what God has to say is important. God has something to say. God has a way that he wants to move. God has wisdom he wants to give. God has encouragement he wants to outpour. But if our ears are closed. If our ears are dull and slow to hear, we will miss what God is doing. Spiritual hearing doesn’t come automatically. Just because you say, Hey, I believe in Jesus…that doesn’t mean you will hear Him perfectly. In order to hear you have to get close to God. In the natural, I can’t hear what the people across the street are saying. They are too far away. But if I get close I can hear them. The same is true with God, I can’t hear from God if I am far away. You have to draw near to Him.
I think it is interesting that the way God’s voice is described in scripture as not as a loud pealing thunder. It is described by Elijah in 1 Kings 19:12 “…still small voice…”. That tells me that I have to get quiet sometimes to hear his voice. That tells me that I have to learn how to listen. The scripture says in John 10:27 “My sheep know my voice…” If you constantly have the radio on, your air buds in, the tv on from morning to night. You won’t be able to hear. God speaks in whispers. God speaks in promptings. But we have to want to hear.
Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. Ezekiel 12:2
But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. Deuteronomy 29:4
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Acts 28:27
[1Ki 19:13 NKJV] 13 So it was, when Elijah heard [it], that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice [came] to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Jonah heard from the LORD and didn’t want his enemy to hear from the LORD.
When we ask to hear from the LORD be ready for obedience.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Psalms 27:14
Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. Psalms 37:34
Be still and wait for the LORD to operate.
Waiting may be frowned upon and makes us seem weak. But where we are weak then the LORD is strong.
Thank you for another great day of Zoom Battle Prayer.