If you love someone you listen to them. Not just to their words but to the look on their face, the inflection of their voice, hand gestures and body language. If you care for someone they don’t have to ask you to listen. Your desire is to be attentive. If you love someone and respect them, then you want to consider what they tell you. In time, you know the meaning of a glance, a sudden hand raised, an eyebrow or the tone in their voice. How many of us have seen our loved ones  far away and known by the way they were standing, who it was or heard a voice in a crowd and recognized a friend we were delighted to embrace. That is the way it is with our Lord. We become sensitive to His voice, His gestures, His word. Like someone whose lover has gone off to war we have read and re-read His letters. Until we can almost quote them word for word. We often feel as if we know what He’d say or do and it may be very presumptuous of us to think we know the mind of God, yet in our zeal to be close to Him, we may be very guilty of just that… presumption.

      The part about presumption is why I struggle with ‘actively’ listening to God. I feel like I may get in His way. I think I may be presuming what I want to hear. What I do know is: when we know the Lord loves us, we also recognize He is listening to us. If He loves us, His desire is to have an intimate and loving relationship with His children.

       When I first received the word to blog was ‘listen’. I went to bed that night praying about what it means to listen to God. I thought of all the ways the Lord speaks to us. He speaks through His written word. Through His prophetic voice, or those believers with a prophetic gift. He writes His word on our hearts – I have spent years considering what that means. There was one time the Lord spoke audibly to me but please don’t tell my doctor, they get very upset about this kind of thing, no kidding. That night I woke up and I heard, “love is the beauty of the Lord articulated”. Wow. Envision our triune God. We are made in His image, in order for there to be love, there must be an object of affection. That same attribute existing within the trinity, exists within each one of us. Understand then, how we love our families, friends, neighbors, even our country, how that reflects the heart of the Lord. We often take it for granted but in societies where there is little love or charity and no Jesus. Life for most is hell on earth. Yes, He who spoke the universe into existence still speaks today. How many are listening, how many will turn their heads or incline their ear to hear what the Lord has to say on a matter. We Christians may often disagree or even presume but life and the world are better for those, even the unbelievers, when we the people incline our ear to hear from our Lord. 

       To listen to the Lord is to obey, to obey His word we must know Him. We must worship Him. To worship the Lord we need a revelation of who He is. I know God is light, in Him there is no darkness. He is truth, it is impossible for God to lie and He is love. The love of God is not fickle as humans are, but steadfast. God is holy, set apart, perfect, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent and He is worthy. There are not enough words or enough of me to express what I feel and know within me about our Lord and Savior. Every time I go to write about Him, I feel like it is a feeble attempt to encompass perfection, an impossible feat for someone so imperfect. I pray the Lord give you a revelation of Himself.

      I have to admit this upsets many people but I am not a biblical inerrantist. I figure that over the thousands of years that the scriptures have been written, there was more left out then in. How much did the Lord say to Paul while he waited and learned from Him in Arabia? How much happened between the time each book was being written? Wow, think about it. I am a thinker but mostly when it comes to the Lord, I am a listener. I keep an ear out for what the Lord has to say on everything from where I live, work, play, travel or even eat. Sometimes, it wasn’t God speaking, sometimes it was just my want I heard. After many years, I’ve learned the Lord is patient with me and He likes me happy. Face it, everyone around me likes it a lot better when I’m happy, LOL.

      It doesn’t bother me if my interpretation of scripture is unsettled, as long as my heart is right before God. In the final analysis He is not taking notes from me, He will do it His way and I will graciously submit. It doesn’t matter if Calvin was correct about what scripture says or Arminius. It doesn’t matter to me if pre-tribulation is correct or post-tribulation. Christ comes when He will and not when we say. In my opinion, most theological arguments are about who is right and not about Him as Lord. It’s about who will listen to me and not about who is listening to Christ. I heard early on in my journey with the Lord, “why do you care how men dress Me and not what it is that I desire?”. It changed my walk completely and I have been blessed mightily because of that one sentence. Actually, I should always know when it is the Lord or me because I am one of many words with little power and the Lord is one of few words with much power.

       The last time the Lord spoke, I was in a prayer meeting and asking the Lord to touch us with His presence, just a crumb Lord just a little bit of Your presence sustains us… and He said, ”the Bridegroom doesn’t give His bride crumbs”. I know the next time I feel His presence there is change coming with it… a powerful change.

God bless, andrea