What Pleases the Lord? (Part 2)

“and find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10

As we continue on in our treasure hunt in searching out what pleases the Lord I would like to refer you to Part 1 of this series if you have not already read that before continuing on with us in Part 2. Otherwise, welcome!

Obedience

But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices  as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15

Obedience to our Heavenly Father and His word is one of the simplest ways to please the Lord. However, there are times when obedience feels as if it is one of the hardest things to do. Especially, when we are caught between doing what is right and doing what we want (what feels good). Obedience isn’t always easy, but it is always right. Take for example Abraham with his son Isaac. I have no doubt that Abraham had thoughts of disobeying the Lord. What parent in their right mind would want to kill their own child? Abraham had to struggle between what was right and what felt right. God honored Abraham’s obedience by sending a ram as a substitute sacrifice instead of Isaac. Are we willing to obey even when it doesn’t make sense? Are we willing to obey when it goes against everything within us that “feels” right?” Like Abraham, are we willing to obey when it “appears” to go against God’s promise over our life? There are times when our obedience will be tested. How will our obedience measure up when the testing comes?  

Giving of our lives

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:15-16

The fruit of our lives often speaks louder than our words. Are we bearing fruit that is tender and sweet or is it bitter and tart in the mouth of others? The people around us should be able to taste and see that the Lord is good. If our lives are not visibly showing Christ, then we can not possibly please the Lord. Hebrews tells us that we should be continually offering praise, the fruit of our lips should speak of His name. If we are not speaking about our Savior and all He has done in our lives, how can we possibly please God? Our lives are a walking, breathing, speaking, living testimony of God’s amazing grace. If we do not speak of this, who will? When we give our entire life, everything we do and say to the Lord as a living testimony for the world to see, hear, and taste, this pleases our Heavenly Father. By walking our lives this way we will stand before Christ and hear “well done good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

Humility

“For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” Psalm 149: 4

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

Our humility is the key to God’s heart. Our Heavenly Father delights in a heart that is humble and broken before him. If our hearts are not in a place of humility the Lord is not obligated to move on our behalf. His heart is moved by our humility. Our humility pleases the Lord. Think about how much easier it is to work with others who are humble and teachable as opposed to those who are arrogant and unyielding. Our relationship with God is no different. When we keep our hearts humble before Him, He is able to do so much more in us and through us then when we are puffed up with arrogance and pride. Our humility will become our crown of victory. How humble we are will determine the size of our victory crown. A heart full of humility the Lord will cherish.

Righteousness

“The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.” Proverbs 11:20

“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3 (ESV)

The Lord takes delight in us when we walk in righteousness, when our ways are blameless. I think the best way to put this into perspective is to relate it to the parent/child relationship. When our kids are being respectful, honoring and obedient with no malice or bitterness in their hearts, then we as parents can delight in them. On the flip side of that, if our children are rebelling and doing all they can to disassociate from us, then our hearts can not fully delight in them. This does not mean that we do not still love them, of course we do, but we will inevitably find ourselves frustrated and worn out by them during these times. I believe in some small way our Heavenly Father is much the same way. He never stops loving us no matter how far we push Him away, but I believe His heart can not fully delight in us when we are not walking in righteousness. So, if we want to make the heart of the Lord smile, we should walk righteously and blamelessly before Him. 

Grace

“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.” Romans 14:13-18

I realize this is a long section of scripture, but I felt the need to include more than just the emphasized section so that you had an understanding of what was going on. Paul was addressing the Roman Christians (as well as us today) that we need to be willing to extend grace in some areas and not be so legalistic. In the transitioning between the old covenant and the new covenant Paul realized that there would be Christians at various stages learning how to function under a new way of interacting with the Lord. He was encouraging them to extend one another grace as they learned how to make this transition. We too need to become a people of grace. New believers are not going to understand everything that a mature Christian might. We can let righteousness, peace and joy flow out of each of us and by doing so, grace will be there as well to understand that God is working on each heart in His own way and in His own time. If we try to become legalistic about all of it we become no better than the pharisees and sadducees, and we all know how Christ felt about them.

Call to action

Today we discussed five things that please the Lord. We talked about our obedience, the giving of our lives and the fruit we are producing, our humility, walking in righteousness, and extending grace. All of these things bring a smile to the face of our Heavenly Father when we put them into practice. I realize this list may seem overwhelming, but I want to encourage you today to choose one of the five things we discussed and make a conscious effort to make that a priority. Take one thing and please the Lord with that one area this week and watch how God’s heart will delight in you because of your diligence.

Sweet Father, I thank you that you have given us keys to your heart in your word. Thank you that you have shown us the very things that please you. I pray that you give us each a drive to work on at least one of these five areas this week so that we can bring a smile to your face and in turn become a witness to the world. We pray this in your precious name.

What Pleases the Lord? (Part 1)

“and find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10

When I came upon this short verse in Ephesians chapter 5 it’s as if the rest of the chapter seemed to disappear. "Find out what pleases the Lord." The things that please the Lord are like a treasure hunt. These things need to be searched out, sought after, and pursued. These are hidden things that take a lifetime of curiosity to unveil. I am completely convinced however, that when we set our minds to pleasing the Lord, by seeking first His kingdom and righteousness, then He will keep His word and “all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) When our minds are focused on pleasing the Lord all of our needs will be taken care of. I’m not saying we will get everything we want, but the Lord will certainly give us everything we need when we need it. I invite you to join me on a treasure hunt as we search scripture to discover what pleases the Lord.

 

Faith

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews tells us that it is not even possible to please the Lord without faith. Faith by definition means to have confidence or trust in the Lord, to believe with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. So, when we lack the confidence, trust and belief with our innermost being, and our faith is non-existent, then pleasing the Lord is absolutely out of the realm of possibility. Faith is the foundation by which everything else in our relationship with Christ can stand. If we have not laid the foundation of a firm and established faith, then we can be assured everything else we try to build in the kingdom will also be weak and unreliable. Faith is the starting point for the Lord to do the unimaginable. I love that the Lord does not expect our faith to be huge. Scripture tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20). Nothing is impossible to those who have just the smallest amount of faith in their Heavenly Father. What confidence that gives us as believers! 

Fearing the Lord

“the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Psalm 147:11

The Lord delights, He takes joy in, it makes His heart happy to see those who stand in awe of Him. That word fear doesn’t mean to be scared of God, but rather to be awe struck, to be so overwhelmed by Him that you are without words to describe how wondrous and glorious He truly is. Do we walk in such a way that our reaction to God being God is nothing short of being totally and completely mesmerized? Are we so wrapped up in His breathtaking nature that we can do nothing more than sit in reverent silence because there are no words to describe Him?  Are we truly fearing the Lord? I don’t know about you, but I fall short on this front for sure! I take God for granted in so many ways and forget to just sit back and stand in awe of Him. This is such a challenge to my spirit right now. I can definitely spend more time admiring the God who created the heavens and the earth, who puts each breath in my lungs and life in my bones. Wow! The Lord delights in me when I take the time to admire Him.

Trust

“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.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Much like faith, trust means to have confidence in, and to rely on. We are to have confidence, without hesitation or hindrance in our Heavenly Father with everything that is within us. Once we have placed our uninhibited trust in the Lord then, and only then can we count on our paths being made straight. I know for me, I often want the Lord to make my path straight before I commit to trusting in Him wholeheartedly. It is not pleasing to the Lord when we don’t completely put our trust in Him and His ways. In fact, it breaks His heart because He can see our past, present and future. He knows our beginning and our end. He knows our comings and our goings. So, when we refuse to trust Him it only grieves His spirit because He has the ability to keep us on the straight and narrow path, safe and secure in His steadfast love. When our trust is placed in other things outside of the Lord we will only reap a path of turning and twisting. I wonder if this is why we sometimes feel as if we are going around the same mountain time and time again. Could it be that we are not trusting the Lord with all our heart? May we learn to place our complete trust in our Heavenly Father so that we can walk on the straight and narrow way rather than walking in circles and wondering which way is forward.    

Loving the Lord

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:36-38

Jesus tells us that loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is the greatest commandment. It pleases the Lord to have His children loving and adoring Him unhindered and unabandoned. Every parent desires for their children to love them. I don’t believe that most parents desire a broken relationship with their children. Our Heavenly Father is much the same way. It warms His heart when His children desire to have close intimate fellowship with Him, to seek after Him, His kingdom and His ways. I suspect that if we just get this one area right, of loving the Lord with our entire being, with every heartbeat and every breath in our bodies, that pleasing the Lord will simply fall into place. 

If we continue on in Matthew 22 we will find the second greatest commandment.

Loving others

“And the second (law) is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:39-40

Our Heavenly Father's very identity is love, so it is no surprise that He desires us to not only love Him with our entire being, but to love others. I believe that He wants us to love others with as much zeal and fervency as He is asking us to love Him with. Let’s just think about this for a minute. If we truly love the Lord completely and utterly unhindered then our natural tendency will be to overflow that same kind of love to every human being that God created in His own image. The question remains, do we zealously love the Lord so much so that it overflows onto others? Or are we secretly hoping that we don’t need to put the amount of effort into our relationship with God to see that kind of love become a byproduct of our time and efforts? Love takes work. No matter if we are loving the Lord or others. Far too often we as human beings become lazy in our relationship both with God and with others. We assume that we can just float through life and that loving God and others will just happen. I wish that were the case. I wish we could just snap our fingers and love would just ooze out of me. Unfortunately, it is not automatic. God created us to work at loving Him and loving others. Let’s challenge ourselves to keep our eyes focused on God so much that loving Him and loving others becomes just a bit easier because we are unwilling to be distracted by the cares of this world.

Heavenly Father we thank you for the treasures found in your word. We pray that we can continue to search out the things that please you. Your word tells us that when we seek we will find. Help us to find out what pleases you and apply those things to our lives. Increase our faith, our fear of you, our trust in you, our love for you and our love for others today. We know that these things please you. We know that these things bring delight to your heart. We pray that you write these things on our hearts and help us to purposefully put them into practice. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Stepping Off The Cliff

I frequently hear people say “God is never going to give you more than you can handle” when I have faced an overwhelming circumstance. All I can say is “hogwash!” More often than not, God has allowed things to enter my life that I could not remotely handle. I also have plenty of friends who would say the same thing with the circumstances they have faced in their lives. I’m sure each one of us can relate, at least to one degree or another. We all have had occasions in our lives that we have felt like we were drowning. I truly believe that God allows our worlds to “fall apart” just so that we come to the end of ourselves and to the beginning of Him.

I was thinking the other day about how God has asked my family to step off the cliff (spiritually speaking). In the natural, selling everything we owned, leaving a steady job, being forced to rely on the generous giving of others each month for our survival, and uprooting our entire family to one of the poorest countries in the world was God’s way of saying “step off the cliff.” It’s as if the Lord’s voice echoed “I dare you to leave everything sensible in this world and take a leap of faith that will cause you to be completely out of control. Yes, it will absolutely be more than you can handle, but watch what I can do with the things you can’t do.” 

When God called us to Liberia, there was no promise that my kids would not get sick and die, there was no promise that money would keep coming to sustain us, there was no promise that things were going to be okay. In other words, when God called our family to step off the cliff, He did not give us a parachute or a harness and rappelling ropes for us to bail ourselves out. There were no safety nets under us or helicopters standing in the waiting for our rescue. When God called us to step off the cliff, there was no turning back. The Lord dared our family to step out knowing that we had no chance of stepping back onto the safety and security of our comfort zones, aka, the cliff in which we we had left behind.

Two years after stepping off this cliff, our family would absolutely say that there have been many times we felt like we were free falling out of control. But, even in the midst of the falling, we are continually reminded that our lives are not falling apart, but rather falling into place. Stepping out when the ground beneath is unable to be seen is a scary place. But we have learned that when the Lord calls us to step off the cliff, it absolutely will be more than we can handle, but it will never be more than God can handle. And that my friend, is all the safety net we will ever need!

Call to Action

What is God calling you to step into and leave behind? I encourage you today to seek the Lord and find out what step of faith He is calling you into next. May the Lord birth in your heart the desire to step off the cliff of faith and never look back.

Heavenly Father I thank you for calling us into places of unknown, places that require us to take leaps of faith, to step off the cliff and give surrender some things in our lives. Show us the cliff you have for each of us to step off of in your kingdom. Fill us with the faith that draws us to the end of ourselves and into the beginning of you. We pray against the temptation to stay in our comfort zones, but to step out and free fall into your perfect will for our lives. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Respecting Leadership

“In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” Exodus 16:2

“Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”Exodus 16:8

Not grumbling 
Moses and Aaron did nothing more than deliver the very words of God directly to the people and yet they chose to complain rather than yield. The truth be told, when we choose to gripe and complain about our leaders when they are simply delivering the word of the Lord, we are doing nothing more than opposing God Himself. By being a constant critic of our leadership, we are essentially telling God that He is not big enough to work through our leaders to teach and strengthen the body. In other words, our grumbling screams directly into the ear of Christ that we know better than He does about what is best for His flock and for us. Ouch! I don’t know about you, but when I see the kind of collateral damage that a grumbling spirit can do, it makes me want to keep quiet, sit back and watch what the Lord is going to do as He speaks through those in leadership positions. Please don’t misunderstand me here, I certainly am not expecting those God has placed in leadership to hear His voice with 100% accuracy all of the time. However, if the hearts of our leaders are submitted to our Heavenly Father and they are submitted to others out of reverence for Christ, (Ephesians 5:21) then we can walk in a greater confidence knowing that our leaders truly have heard from the Lord. It is an entirely different can of worms if our leaders will not submit to others. However, my desire for this post is to point our hearts to the correct response towards our leaders when they line up with God’s word. It is in this vein that I want to take a closer look at our responsibility in respecting leadership.

I love how Paul puts it plainly for us…

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7

Remember your leaders
Paul first off reminds us not to forget our leaders. When was the last time we told our pastor “thank you” or wrote them a note of appreciation? I don’t know about you, but that thought pierces straight through my heart! We seldom remember just how much work our leaders do to keep watch over souls. Being a shepherd  is no little task, take it from someone who actually raised sheep! (I grew up on a farm.) This is serious business here. Our spiritual life in many ways is in their hands and a pastor who understands the depth of this responsibility deserves a “thank you” from time to time! 

Consider the outcome of their way of life
Paul tells us to take a look at the fruit their life is producing, consider it, ponder it, study the fruit. We would be wise to plant the seeds from the Godly fruit we see flowing out of our leaders directly  into our hearts so that we too can produce a Godly fruit. What types of “fruit” am I talking about here? 

Let’s take a look at Galatians 5:22-23. 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

When we see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control flowing out of our leaders, it is always in our best interest to learn how to have those very same things flow out of our hearts as well.

Imitate their faith
I love how Paul tells us to imitate their faith, not imitate them, their behavior, their actions or their personality. I believe Paul was very intentional about choosing faith as our target for imitating. Faith can be played out through a myriad of people, actions, behaviors, and personalities. Our Heavenly Father has created each and every one of us in a very unique way. He did not design us to be carbon copies of each other. He designed us to be uniquely and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). We are designed to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1) not imitators of man. So, when Paul chose this word “faith,” he chose it specifically to direct us to emulate the God within our leaders rather than our leaders themselves.  

“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Hebrews 13:17 

Be a joy
We are sometimes quick to forget that our leaders carry a heavy responsibility set upon them by the Lord himself to keep watch over our souls. If we can remember the severity of this responsibility we will inevitably do a better job of  submitting to their leadership. When we are able to submit to their leadership with a peaceful heart, it will allow the weight of their responsibility to be lightened. However, when our mouths are quick to grumble and complain it increases that weight of responsibility upon their shoulders causing their job to become a burden. It amazes me how the very attitude of our hearts can change the atmosphere of the workplace for our leaders. Let’s be quick to check our hearts to make sure we are being a joy not a burden.

“Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Respect and honor
This entire post has been showing us ways in which we can respect and honor our leaders. 1 Thessalonians reminds us once again to hold our leaders in the highest regard. They truly carry a weight much heavier than we may ever know. May we remember the magnitude of the responsibilities they chose to pick up when they accepted the beckoning of Christ’s call. Let us not forget that they are keeping watch over our souls, a responsibility that we can make a joyful one or a burden.

Call to Action
Take a few minutes this week to write a note of encouragement to your pastor. It doesn’t need to be anything formal. It can be something as simple as a text message letting them know that you are praying for them and you appreciate all they do. Find a way to let your pastor know that you are thankful for the work they do for the kingdom. Be an encouragement to your leaders this week!

For more reading on this topic read: Submission

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the leaders you have placed in the body of Christ who tend to our very souls. We may never know the extent to which they toil and labor in the kingdom, but help us to honor and respect them, be a joy to them, imitate their faith, remember to encourage them, and most importantly not become someone who grumbles against them. Help us to keep our hearts with all diligence in regards to our leaders. We desire to be a joy to them and not a burden. Show us today the very things we can be doing to bless those you have placed in our lives who are called to watch over our souls. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus.

The Still Small Voice of God

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” 1 Kings 9:11-13

Several things came to Elijah while standing on Mt. Horeb. The first was a “great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks,” but the Lord was not in the wind. Next came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. A fire came last, but the Lord was not in the fire either. The sound of the Lord’s voice came as a gentle whisper. If Elijah would have not had his ears ready he would have missed the Lord’s voice entirely. This story got my mind wondering how many times I am looking for God to speak in this thunderous, earth shattering, electrifying voice, that I completely miss the subtle whisper of his sweet beckoning. Is it me, or does anyone else expect God to speak with a flashing neon sign that says “this is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21)? I think sometimes our expectation of God’s voice is so far from reality we completely miss the still small whisper that He so desperately desires for our ears to be attuned to. 

“Then the Lord called Samuel. 
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:4-10

Samuel was a young boy of about 11 when he heard God calling to him in the midnight hour. During this time it was rare to hear the voice of the Lord (1 Samuel 3:1). This was largely due to the fact that the prophets had stopped listening. They had rebelled, allowing sin to be their lifestyle rather than the ways of the Lord. Sin blocked God’s voice from entering their ear. This didn’t mean that God had stopped speaking, it simply meant that they had stopped listening by allowing sin to dam up the channel for God’s voice to travel freely. Oh, how this resonates with me! How many times have I dug my heels into the ground of “being right” and in the meantime missing the sound of my Father’s gentle calling. Oh, how sin can easily dam up my ears from that sweet voice. Is anyone else like that, or am I the only one in this boat?

Since Samuel was young and still largely uninfluenced by the rebellious nature of the prophets of his day, he was able to hear the voice of the Lord for himself. However, having no experience in hearing the sound of God’s voice he assumed that it was Eli calling for him. Once Eli realized that it was the Lord, he instructed Samuel to attune his listening ear to what God had to say to him. “Speak, for your servant is listen.” 

How many times do we miss the Lord’s still small voice all because we do not recognize that it is the Lord speaking? I know I am guilty of missing the gentle proddings of God's tender words. Sometimes, I just wish the Lord would scream, shout or yell to get my attention. But I heard it said somewhere that the Lord is a gentleman. His character is not one that will back us into a corner. We will always have the choice to listen for the whisper. But like so many other things in kingdom living, attuning our ears to the sound of God’s voice takes practice, patience, and a willingness to wait. God doesn’t usually speak on our time table. We need to foster an attitude of waiting for His timing.

“ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27”14

I truly believe that God is speaking to us all of the time, but somewhere between the distractions of life that cause us to take our eyes of Christ and the sin that so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1) blockages are happening. We get so busy with the cares of life, we forget to just be still and wait patiently.

Call to Action
Keeping an attitude of repentance and learning to be still before the Lord will go a long way in helping us to free up any blockages that may occur in our hearing. By allowing the Lord to work in our heart to show us any areas that need adjusting and then making those changes will free up our ears to hear His still small voice. However, this is a practice that we need to continually return to each and every day. This takes time, but God's voice will become clear and frequent when we are diligent in these areas. I want to encourage each one of us, myself included, to humble ourselves before the Lord and work on keeping an attitude of repentance today. Let's also set aside at least 10 minutes of uninterrupted time today to quiet our hearts before the Lord and just listen, not pray with a list of requests, but with no words, be still, quiet and wait. I'm not saying God will speak in those 10 minutes, but if we get ourselves in the habit of doing these things each day, the Lord will meet us!

Heavenly Father, I pray for ears so finely tuned to your voice that when you whisper we will hear it clearly. Help us to keep our hearts humble and in a place of repentance so sin is not blocking your voice from reaching our ears. In all our distractions, may we take the time to be still and quiet our hearts and minds before you. We pray for a greater attentiveness to your still small voice. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.