Duran Farms and Light bulbs 💡 Listen and hear

Isaiah 28:23 
Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.

Have you ever thought about the difference between hearing and listening?

I like to tease my husband that he hears me but doesn’t listen to me.
To "listen" means that we are paying attention to what we are hearing we’re giving it thoughtful and considerate attention.
While, to "hear" refers to being aware of hearing something with our ears, we discern that we heard something without focusing in on the sound.

Every day our lives are filled with numerous sounds that compete for our attention and many of us do not pay attention to most of them.

For instance, when I was a young mother, the television could be on and everyone in my house talking at once and I could still tune most of it out. It wasn’t that I didn’t hear the noise, but I was not not listening to it.

God gave us ears to hear and He gave us the ability to listen so we can understand.
When both hearing and listening work together, we then understand the purpose of what we’re hearing.
And in the same way, if we hear the words of a person speaking to us and we truly listen to them we will better understand their heart and the meaning behind their words.
This same principle holds true with God's Word. We can hear the Word preached, taught and read.
We can read the Word ourselves and hear our own voices speak it.
But, when we really listen to God's Word, then our understanding begins to change.

I can remember many times after leaving church on a Sunday after having heard the morning message and I could not remember hardly anything about it!
You see, when we are listening and give consideration to what we are hearing, then we will remember and we will be thinking about what it is we just heard.

When the Word of God truly becomes His voice in our life, then our hearing and listening will open up a new world of understanding for us.

Our life will change. And it all begins with understanding the difference between hearing and listening!

Please, take time today and think about how much you hear versus how much you listen. Is He talking to you but you are not paying attention?

For many Christians the problem is they don’t talk WITH Him. But they talk TO Him…

The Bible is full of examples of people who refused to listen to God…

Take Jonah, for instance. He refused to listen and wound up in the belly of a large fish for three days.

Samson heard God’s word, but didn’t listen. He allowed his carnal self to drown out God’s voice and he paid with his life.
And, the rich young ruler asked the most important question in his life and when he heard the answer, he turned and walked away.

God has various ways to communicate with us. Let's not be so focused on our plans that we neglect to go into the prayer closet and we miss what The Father is trying to tell to us!

So, remember: communicating with God requires obedience, discipline, and our willingness to listen to what we hear.

 God bless!