Still Water Moments - Part III
John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
In continuing our conversation about still water moments, let’s reflect on points made thus far. Part I spoke of the reason why we need to have them. Part II focused on when we have these moments and challenged us to be intentional about carving out multiple times in the day to acknowledge and spend time with the Lord. Part III will focus on the conversational piece of these moments.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone but it’s clear they are distracted and not hearing you? Or how about the person that just wants to hear themself speak? They’re just biding time waiting for you to pause so they can interject their opinions on the subject regardless of what you said because they weren’t actively listening. There are also the times when a person may assume they know your point of view on a subject and overtalk you and take the subject and run with their own narrative. I personally find these instances annoying and feel the person sees no value in what I’m saying. It makes me wonder how God must feel whenever I list my requests during prayer but do not take the time to listen to Him.
Merriam Webster’s definition of conversation is: … an exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas.
The theme of conversation is tied up in the word, exchange. There is a give and take between two or more people when a productive conversation is taking place. I dare say, when we are praying and having our conversations with the Lord, we should be doing more listening than speaking. Since He is our Creator, He knows us better than we could ever know ourselves. He is omniscient, (all knowing). Thus, He sees every single detail of a situation we find ourselves in, such as the people involved; the effect it would have on us and our family; how it could affect us long term, etc. Our view is limited, our thinking is limited, His is not. Thus, when we pray about a situation, His guidance and solution will automatically take precedence over any solution we could come up with. This is one of the reasons the bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Just as we want to be heard during conversations, so does God and it is critical that we listen for His guidance. The bible gives us direction about many things we face in life via accounts, parables and commands. When we take the time to listen to God, He gives us direction AND insight on specific situations in our individual lives. If we are truly saying He is the leader of our lives, we need to hear what His leading is for our lives. When we listen to God, we position ourselves to experience and receive great things from Him. For example, Psalm 85:8 says, “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants- but let them not turn to folly.” In addition to peace, our faith and trust in Him grows, we are encouraged, we feel validated because we recognize He sees us, and we feel closer to God as our bond with Him deepens. Clearly, we have nothing to lose and much to gain when we listen to God!
Reflection: How often do I take the time to listen to what God has to say to me? Is it difficult for me to follow His direction if it doesn’t make sense to me?
