To LISTEN- We are already in the Presence of God…What’s absent is AWARENESS! -R.Rohr
God loves to thrill us with His answers…
“When you pray, be sure that you listen as well as talk. You have things you want to say to God, but He also has things He wants to say to you.” Joyce Meyer
Jer. 33:3 “‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
This is SO on God’s heart for you today!!!! A while ago while spending time with Jesus, in the spirit, I saw myself next to Him where He sat, with my head on His lap. And He was playing with my hair. When I am deeply tired, I find myself many times in this position with my head resting on His lap.
In that moment I was wondering why He’s sometimes quiet –
not saying anything? While thinking about this, suddenly, all around us in the spirit, I saw
what looked like thou-
sands of English and Hebrew alphabet letters in gold “floating” around.
In my heart, I felt Jesus saying clearly:
“I am ALWAYS talking! You just need to learn to LISTEN. I talk in different ways.
I AM the Word!” To this, I immediately replied: “Lord, teach me to hear your voice. I want to hear it more often, more clearly.” Eph 5:26 speaks of Christ sanctifying and cleansing us through His Word like washing with water…
A month or more after this experience (and the experience forgotten), I was receiving word from God in many different ways – through friends, books, prayer during my quiet time, reading the Bible, etc. as I do normally but this time it was more than ever. So much so that I struggled to keep up in writing it all down until I got to a stage of nearly feeling overwhelmed by it and saying to God – “Wow, thank You Lord, its a lot! I’m struggling to keep track of it all!” to which, of course, He replied… “but you asked to hear Me more often, didn’t you?”
So you may wonder, how do we hear His voice? To me, personally, there are two major keys: You need to WANT it with all your heart and through intimacy with Jesus.
Jer. 29:13 “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Intimacy, you ask? Jump onto your Daddy’s lap, put your ear on His heart and listen. You get to know someone best when you not only spend time with them daily but also LISTEN. A mother and child will recognize each other’s voices even in a crowd. Why? Because they live together, do life together, communicate and listen to each other.
Now you are possibly thinking: “So when do you think will I have the time for this??” Ask God to help you make time. Did you know that some of your best encounters with Jesus can be in your workplace? Just because you acknowledge Him there with you…. “Brother Lawrence (1614 – 12 February 1691) served as a lay brother in a Carmelite Monastery in Paris. There his primary assignments were working in the kitchen and, in his later years, repairing sandals. Christians commonly remember him for the intimacy he expressed concerning his relationship to God. Despite his lowly position in life and the priory, his character attracted many to him. He had a reputation for experiencing profound peace and visitors came to seek spiritual guidance from him.” – Wikipedia
Brother Lawrence acknowledged God in his workplace, washing dishes and other daily kitchen obligations, and had amazing encounters with God. He said: “The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees.” I absolutely love Brother Lawrence’s heart for God and, obviously, so did God. He also said: “It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.“
Invite Jesus, with all of your heart, and then…LISTEN. He longs for you to hear Him, He has so much to say to you.
When you start hearing Him, you will realize that some of what He says to you He wants you to share with the people around you, and the rest….well they are meant for only you two. I call them “secrets with God”. Whats experienced through intimacy is not always meant to be shared with the world, sometimes it’s those words or gestures shared that makes a relationship special and sacred. Especially with God – the lover of your soul! The author of intimacy!
“I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on in a habitual, silent and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.” Br. Lawrence
“We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before Him, Who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king.” Br. Lawrence