Listening Involves Action

We’re examining the topic “listen,” especially listening to God.
Listening to the God, who in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says “Hear (listen) O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Notice, action is included in the hearing.

In the Old Testament, “hear” is the Hebrew word “shama,”defined as to listen intelligently with action to be taken (obedience). In the New Testament,”hear” is best described as “listening with understanding – to not only hear the sound but grasp the meaning.”
Thus, to listen, to hear has a two fold imperative: not only hear and understand what is being spoken, but follow with a response of action.

An example of a man listening to God is found in 1 Chronicles 14:10. So David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead. I will give you the victory.”
And in Genesis 12:7 we hear God speaking again, “Then the Lord apeared to Abram and said, “I am going to give this land to your offspring.” Scores of verses could verify God speaking to His people.To Adam, to David, to Solomon, to Samuel, to Moses “as a man speaks to his friend” (Exod. 33:11)

Can we ask God personal questions today and receive an answer? Some would say, “Ray, that was Old Testament. We’re living in New Testament time. God only speaks now through His Word, the Bible.” Others would disagree because the Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He doesn’t change. He’ll talk to us now.

In the New Testament we observe God speaking to Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4-6). To Peter in Acts 10. And besides that you have that John 10:27 quote of Jesus, “My sheep listen to my voice and they follow.” God speaks now through His Word, through dreams, through visions, through angels, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, through nature – indeed, any way He chooses.

Joyce Huggett in her book “Listening to God,” quotes David Watson: “God did not finish speaking to us when the scriptures were completed…God is the living God, the God of today; and every day he wants us to enjoy a living relationship with Him, involving a two-way conversation."
God actually wants to dialogue with you and me. Are we listening? Am I being obedient to what I hear?