He Speaks…Do I Ask and Listen?

A few weeks ago, I wrote, Whispers and Shouts and How Does God Whisper to You? Feel free to read these first if you missed them. Today I have a life example of listening and hearing from the Lord when I asked from the heart.

As I started my “deck time with the Lord”, I sat quietly for a few minutes. I was reminded of Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.” Today, I was especially expectant and I ASK!

Then as I often do, I played a worship song. this particular one has a video with it that causes me to worship more deeply and keeps this song on my replay!

Feel free to stop and watch! (This isn’t the exact video attached to my downloaded song that has trumpets, but it’s still amazing.

After that, I listened to a second song, also on replay recently, Gratitude.

I truly desired to hear from God today. There were some heavy burdens and concerns that I needed to hear from Him about. Things that had been on my heart for a while. And I had not learned contentment in the wait for the answers. So, just by happenstance (not!) the next song in line was this, Believe For It:

So, my heart was already hearing and I became even more expectant of hearing His voice. My chronological Bible reading that day was in Ezekiel, Matthew and Philippians.

In Ezekiel 36, God reminded the Israelites through this writer-prophet that eventual restoration would come to their nation. But He made it clear, that it wouldn’t happen soon and it wasn’t for them He would do this. He would do it for His own namesake and glory. This was such a reminder to me that His timing, and His way of working, is often so different from mine. It was also a reminder that He will do what will bring the most glory to Himself, in our personal needs and in our nation, which I have a heavy burden for as well. He’s working even when we are unaware of it!

Then in the study I am currently doing, Lisa Harper‘s latest, How Much More, she led us to read Matthew 25.

This passage is the story of the 10 virgins who were invited to a wedding. Some were wise, and some not so much, because although they all had a lamp, only half of them took oil for their lamps to keep them lit. As they waited for the wedding to begin, they got tired of waiting, possibly bored with it, and fell asleep and their lamps burned out. The 5 without oil had to go buy some so they could find their way to the celebration and ended up missing the entire thing.

Those burdens on my heart rose again as I thought about those I know and love who don’t know Jesus and it compelled me not to stop praying and seeking Gospel conversations with them…in His timing and in His way. I won’t fall asleep in the wait, but I’ll be ready to share, so they will be ready at His return and not miss it!

I then prayed for the Lord to help me to be patient and content in the wait, to do what he has put in front of me in the meantime. I was able to lay the burden down in front of Him, trust He will do what will most glorify His name, and I won’t sleep, but be patient in the wait.

And then, lastly, as I was closing my “deck time” I was praying over 5 women going through some very painful experiences, some physical, some emotional, some relational. This day, the verse I was praying was this:

Philippians 4:11-13

I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content — whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

And this is what another author I am currently reading said about this passage and prayer:

Nancy Guthrie

We think will be content when we finally get what we want, what we’re praying for. But real contentment is when we except less or something other than what we want. Christ is our source for the spiritual strength we need to live with what we didn’t ask for and less than we want.

So, as I was expectant today, God spoke. And though I normally pray “Speak, Lord, for your servant listens, ” (1 Samuel 3:9) and “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your Word” (Psalm 119:18) when I read Scripture, I don’t always listen well to His divine whispers. Today I did.

May I expect daily to hear from Jesus as He speaks into my life! I pray you will do this too. He wants to speak and He wants us to ask and listen.

Watch next week for my post about when the struggles just don’t seem to end.

Banner photo by Jac Alexandru on Unsplash