Open Your Ears

Read: Ezekiel 2:1–3:15

“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” Ezekiel 2:1

IN WORD

Ezekiel fell facedown when he saw the glory of the Lord by the river Kebar. That’s an appropriate and seemingly unavoidable reaction to the holy Presence. But whenever someone encounters God, it seems he is told to get up and listen (Daniel 10:11; Revelation 1:17). Apparently, God prepares His servants with humility and then speaks to them with clarity. He requires their attention before He communicates.

Many Christians don’t realize that. We often assume that if God wants to speak to us, He knows our number. So we live life “normally,” thinking that hearing the voice of God is an uncommon phenomenon and only a few people with special assignments are likely to hear it. We consider clear direction as the exception rather than the rule.

Perhaps God’s words to Ezekiel are a clue to the contrary. Perhaps we don’t hear God’s voice as often as we’d like because we aren’t ready to hear it. It’s possible, in fact, to read our Bible, pray, and even ask God to guide us without ever really expecting Him to—or trusting that we’ve actually heard Him. Or maybe we listen for His voice as one opinion among many, open to obeying it if we like how it sounds and ignoring it if we don’t. The result is that we probably hear God often without actually hearing Him, second-guessing every divine communication as a figment of our imagination or the product of psychological processes. Maybe we don’t know we hear Him because we haven’t gotten up from humble reverence and stood with open ears.

IN DEED

Develop a lifestyle of hearing. Spend time worshiping in His presence and then stand with expectancy. God always communicates with those who listen on His terms with a mind toward obedience. The person who thinks God might speak will probably not hear Him. Those who know that He will speak can trust what they hear.

ADDITIONAL READING: Jeremiah 33:3

In one short hour, you can learn more from Him than you could learn from a man in a thousand years.

JOHANN TAULER