Did you ever unknowingly put yourself in a situation which in retrospect was definitely not God's will? Obviously you weren't hearing the Lord. He must have warned you hundreds of times, but you must have missed it time after time. This seems to indicate that Jesus' voice is strange to you. You're in trouble. When you don't hear Jesus, you don't hear the Word (Jn 1:1) and the Truth (Jn 14:6). You don't hear the only One Who can rightly direct your life. You're out of control.
To hear the Lord, we must:
1) Repent of the sins impairing our hearing. Go to Confession.
2) Totally commit our lives to Him. Jesus said: "Anyone committed to the truth hears My voice" (Jn 18:37).
3) Set a time each day for listening prayer.
4) Pray, read, and live the Bible. Hearing comes by the Word of God (see Rm 10:17).
5) Be quiet for a while each day. Shut off or throw out the TV and put down the handheld electronic devices.
6) Simplify our lifestyle.
| PRAYER: | Father, may I hear every word You speak (Jn 8:47). |
| PROMISE: | "As I began to address them the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as It had upon us at the beginning." –Acts 11:15 |
| PRAISE: | Robert and Alice read Scripture and pray together at least once a day. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College