{"id":5690,"date":"2019-09-16T12:21:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T17:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=5690"},"modified":"2019-09-13T12:24:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T17:24:37","slug":"are-we-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2019\/09\/16\/are-we-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We Listening?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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**This article is from the book Pause: The Secret to a Better Life One Word at a Time.**<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

We talk to God. He listens. We read God\u2019s Word. He speaks. Call it a relationship\u2014a renewal. Call it real life.<\/p>\n

Most of us know we should pray, but most of us fail to do so regularly. When we hear stories of great prayer warriors, we feel worse. When we hear sermons about prayer\u2019s worth, we feel defeated. God does not want to punish us for our lack of prayer. He invites us to fall in awe of Him, to honor Him, to adore Him, and to listen to Him. Prayer\u2014genuine and consistent\u2014will flow from such beliefs.<\/p>\n

Staying prayerful means more than going through the motions. Communication with God includes many types of episodes. A private place and time, a group joining together, a drive down the road.<\/p>\n

Good habits are good if they are more than habits. These habits include confession, Scripture reading, singing, bowing, walking, talking, writing prayers, and listening.\u00a0Prayer surpasses putting in time or punching a clock. It must move from duty to delight.<\/p>\n

Familiarity breeds contempt; so the saying says.<\/p>\n

The Psalmist viewed things a little differently. He felt that as he learned more about God, he would have a greater desire to praise Him. More knowledge of God\u2019s law would lead to more freedom in worship.<\/p>\n

Also, his praise would not be fake or ritualistic. It would not be \u201cgoing through the motions.\u201d His praise would not be an attempt to cover up his sin. He would praise God and mean it. In Spirit and in truth. With an upright, honest, sincere, single-purpose heart, he would praise God.<\/p>\n

How can a person develop such a life of praise? By learning God\u2019s \u201crighteous laws.\u201d A life dedicated to learning\u2014from the heart as well as the head\u2014God\u2019s righteous laws is a life that praises God and a life that praises the righteous God from a righteous heart.<\/p>\n

And, if prayer is an ongoing relational conversation instead of just a duty or task, it can really be a lifestyle that never ends.<\/p>\n

REFLECT<\/strong>:\u00a01. Why is it easier to pray by talking to God instead of listening to God?\u00a02. How can we \u201chear from God\u201d?\u00a03. What stops us from developing a conversational relationship with our Divine Lover?<\/p>\n

RECEIVE<\/strong>: \u201cThe way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice\u201d (Proverbs 12: 15). \u201cIf anyone has ears to hear, let them hear\u201d (Mark 4: 23). \u201cUntil I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching\u201d (1 Timothy 4: 13).<\/p>\n

RESPOND<\/strong>: Think about this: two eyes, two ears, one mouth. Maybe we could spend more time this week looking and listening\u2014and observing God all around us\u2014instead of doing all the talking ourselves as we pray.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":5691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","slim_seo":{"title":"Are We Listening? - IPHC Discipleship Ministries","description":"**This article is from the book Pause: The Secret to a Better Life One Word at a Time.** We talk to God. He listens. We read God\u2019s Word. He speaks. Call it a re"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[940,1194,1193,1031,1195,1124,1122],"class_list":["post-5690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-discipleship-ministries","category-general","tag-940","tag-are-we-listening","tag-chris-maxwell","tag-discipleship-ministries","tag-pause","tag-quarter-3","tag-steadfast-in-prayer","entry"],"title_es":"\u00bfEstamos escuchando?","content_es":"Este art\u00edculo es del libro Pausa: El secreto para una vida mejor Una palabra a la vez.<\/a><\/em>","author_name":"Chris Maxwell","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1tM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2898,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2017\/02\/07\/listening-for-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":5690,"position":0},"title":"Listening for Love","author":"Lindsey","date":"February 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For a parent, life moves at high speed. Time is of the essence. We must work, educate, clean, cook, plan get-togethers, stay fit, volunteer ... the list goes on. Modeling to our children how to be productive with time is important. But just as importantly, we must slow down and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Boys Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Boys Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/boys-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/02\/Listening-for-Love.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/02\/Listening-for-Love.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/02\/Listening-for-Love.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/02\/Listening-for-Love.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4287,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2018\/11\/30\/wait-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":5690,"position":1},"title":"Wait Training","author":"Lindsey","date":"November 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Written by Nicole Hammond We all have to wait in life\u2014in lines, in traffic, the doctor\u2019s office, for your kids, and even God!\u00a0 The days we live in are so fast paced that waiting seems like a punishment. 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