In our contemporary society, a lot of individuals listen to the word of God, yet not all of them listen. This is among the largest challenges in our life in the spiritual front. I have realised that listening and hearing are very different. Hearing is when we hear something in our ears, and listening is when we comprehend it, reflect upon it and we can be transformed by it. There are a lot of individuals who attend church, fellowships, and they read the Bible, yet their lives are not changing. That is how they just hear, but do not listen.
In the bible we learn that hearing is not sufficient. James 1:22 states, But be ye doers of the word, and not only hearers, that deceive themselves. This verse comes out clearly to indicate that when we hear the word of God and fail to follow it, then we are deceiving ourselves. God does not wish that we merely hear the words of God, He wants us to live by the words. The MCGI teaching has taught me that the only way one can listen to the word of God is through obedience. It is to have the word correcting, teaching, guiding us, day in, day out.
In some cases, individuals believe that they are listening to God just because they are in services or reading the Bible. However, listening is more than that. It involves listening to what God is saying to our hearts and putting into our lives. In Matthew 13:13, Jesus explained that since they see not, neither hear they, nor do they understand. This implies that the message reaches a lot of people and they fail to grasp as their hearts are closed. Their thoughts are consumed with distractions, concerns and sin, thus the word cannot root in their thoughts.
I recollect that there was a period when my church attendance involved listening to Bible teachings but did not take them seriously. I would hear with my ears and forget all may I say. I noted that I was one of the people in Matthew 13:20 21 -the ones that initially receive the word with euphoria but fail to persist due to the fact that the word failed to penetrate their hearts. My life began to change when I began to meditate on the teachings, pray that I get understanding, and do what I learned. It is what listening is all about not merely hearing.
When listening to the word of God, one has to be humble as well. There are those who fail to listen as they believe that they have heard enough. They just take what they like in the bible and leave the other parts. According to Proverbs 1:5, a wise man will listen and will grow learning; and a man of understanding will reach to wise counsels. This implies that we should have a humbled heart that is willing to be corrected by God. Whenever we listen, we get the word of God to influence our character and choices.
Another lesson I have acquired in the MCGI lessons is that God speaks in various ways, through the bible, through His servants as well as through circumstances in our life. But a lot of times we are too preoccupied to pay attention. We are too much attached on our phones, careers or problems that we do not find time to listen. There are various possibilities that God may be warning us, or be comforting us, or be leading us onwards, but unless our hearts are filled with silence we are not going to hear Him. The verse 46:10 of Psalm tells us Be still, and know that I am God. This demonstrates that one needs to be quiet and attentive to God.
One more reason, which leads to hearing and not listening, is the fact that these people do not confuse the word with faith. According to Hebrews 4: 2, unto us was the gospel preached, and unto them: but the word preached had not profited them, so long as it was not blended with faith in them who heard it. This implies that the word of God is only effective in the believers. As long as we do not trust or disregard the word of God, it becomes useless in our life. Listening is about believing what God says and believing it and putting it into action.
There is also change in listening. When we listen to God, it will be reflected in our attitude, behavior, and speech. As an illustration, when we hear the command by God to forgive others we will not have hatred in our hearts. When we hear God tell us to love one another, we will not treat people harshly. 1 Samuel chapter fifteen verse twenty-two makes us know that To obey is better than sacrifice. This then implies that God values more listening which results in obedience than any outward display of religion.
I ponder over all these, and I realize that listening to the word of God is a choice I make on a day-to-day basis. It needs to be cared about, humble and obedient. One cannot merely hear sermons or read the bible randomly. We should open our hearts, be guided by the Holy Spirit and the word should change our lives. Listening gives spiritual development, tranquility and wisdom.
To sum it up, most individuals listen to the word of God, yet few are listeners. Listening occurs with the heart, whereas hearing occurs with the ear. Romans 10:17 talks about the coming of faith as a result of hearing and hearing as a result of the word of God. We should not simply hear the word, but listen and obey. Since, when we are really listening, we are brought closer to God, live righteously and bring His light to others. May God enable us all to be listeners of his word and not hearers.