Day 7 – What Stops Us From Hearing: Listening To Other Voices
As you begin to spend time with God, settle yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Spend a few moments gathering your thoughts, becoming aware of God’s presence with you and in you.
Journal for 5 minutes on yesterday’s reflection and practice. What did you think about and learn? What challenged you? Did God say anything to you throughout the day?
Then, begin today’s devotional.
Read: John 10:3-4
"The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice."
How do we seek to hear the Lord’s voice in the midst all the other things making noise in our lives?
I think back to when I was a little girl and my family and I went to the fair. I loved the rides, the greasy carnival food, and the swarms of people. At one point, I got separated from my family on a busy walkway. I couldn’t see my parents, although I knew they were close by. I looked and looked. I kept walking and moving forward. I listened. Finally I heard my father’s voice call out to me, “Hayley!” My parents were closer than I realized and I was able to identify my father’s voice among all the conversations, babies crying, carnival music, and other noises swirling around me.
To help us hear our Good Shepherd’s voice, as we are called to in John 10:3-4, we have to listen for Him and seek to know Him.
Listening is very intentional. When listening to a friend who is sharing something important to them, we choose to be attentive – to put down our phone, look them in the eye, pause what we’re doing. I think we can apply these same postures to seeking and listening to the Lord. Put our phones down, close our eyes or focus them on one spot in the room, and pause.
It’s easier to hear the voices of those we know and care about, and spend time around. Have you ever been in the Caf and heard someone laugh and you knew exactly who it was? It’s like that. You know your friend’s laugh or their tone and volume of voice because you spend time around them. You know them. The more we know the Lord, the more attuned we will be to hearing His voice. I knew my father’s voice at the fair because I talked with him every day and spent time with him. As we spend time with the Lord (through whatever spiritual discipline we experience Him through) we come to recognize Him more – in the people around us, in conversations, in silence.
We all have a multitude of other voices speaking into our lives. Pastors, influential leaders, authors, social media influencers, family, friends, culture, environments. Most of these aren’t necessarily negative, although they can be. The issue comes when we focus solely on these voices, instead of the Lord’s.
Prayer:
Lord, I want to listen to You and know You. You are my Good Shepherd. I long for Your voice. Give me the strength necessary for discipline. Help me to recognize Your voice throughout my day. Give me courage to engage with silence. Thank you for the other voices You use to speak into my life. Help me to view them as support systems and not as a replacement for my relationship with You.
Journal:
Take a few moments to journal through the following question(s).
Reflect on how well you know God’s voice compared to how well you know the voices of others in your life (i.e., friends, podcasts, pastors, influencers, etc.). Can you recognize the Lord’s voice in those other voices, or are they possibly not in alignment with Him?
Today’s Practice:
Take the next 15 minutes to sit in silence. Turn off your phone, or other devices making noise. Let the silence be. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable. As you become quiet, what do you hear – voices, traffic, your breath, wind, your heart, distracting thoughts? Let the noise go. Continue to let the quiet deepen. Be with God. Silence is not an exciting experience in and of itself, but it clears your mind to hear from God throughout your day, especially if you practice it often.
By Hayley Hanford, Area Coordinator of Guy, Perks, Crowder