Hearing VS. Listening

I assure you that my hearing is great. It’s my listening that needs some work. Hearing is an involuntary function of my body. Listening is a choice that I make that requires me to pay attention. When there are distractions in the room (TV, dogs, music, etc.) and things going on that I give way too much of my time to, my listening is greatly affected. What can I do to listen better? Try to eliminate the distractions, or at least lessen them. You’ve probably heard the term “selective listening,” the conscious decision of whether or not to listen to what someone is saying. I’m sure that I’m probably guilty of selective listening, as are many of you who will read this.

           So how do these concepts apply to how well I hear and listen to the voice of God? I’m not sure about hearing God; I’ve never heard his audible voice. I know there have been times I have had trouble listening to God. How can I get better about listening to God? (See Above-Eliminate Distractions) For me to eliminate distractions, I have got to get away from them and find a quiet place where I can be alone. Luke 5:16 in the New Testament says that Jesus often got away to quiet places and prayed. Even Jesus found time to get away from the distractions of ministry. It sounds like there should not be distractions in ministry, but when ministry keeps us from spending time with the Lord, they are definitely distractions. When I get away, I eliminate the distractions. I find that every time I get away I become a better listener. In one of the interviews I had with a ministry leader he said that “It is the intentionality of [saying] God I’m going to give you this time because the desire of my heart is to connect with you.” Another ministry leader, when asked why solitude was important said, “I know what happens to me when I don’t do that.”

           One of the challenges I think we all face sometimes is distinguishing what the voice of God is versus what the voice of the world is. When we get away to a quiet place, we have a much easier time distinguishing the two. The problem is making the time to get away; we make excuses for not slowing down or taking a break. We say things like: “If I don’t do it, then it won’t get done,” or things like: “People are expecting me to have this finished by next month; I can’t take a break.”

           Solitude, Sabbath, and Rest are not the same thing. I can rest with noise around me. I can Sabbath while I’m resting. What I can’t do is have solitude when I have things going on around me.  Solitude is an intentional time of getting away somewhere and being alone. When I am alone, I am more apt to hear and listen to the voice of God in my life. There have been times I have gotten away for a few hours of solitude. Each of those times, I have made it a point of listening closely to what I think God wanted to tell me. One time I remember that he told me something specific; another time, he wanted me just to get away and stop running on the hamster wheel.

            Life will not slow down by itself; we have to help it by making intentional time to get away. Have you ever heard of life as a rat race? I once heard it said that every time we think we should be getting ahead in the rat race someone puts in a fresh rat.

We should all quit trying to beat the rats.

—John