Undaunted Pursuit

My son wanted to learn how to crochet. He and his college roommate sat in their dorm room one night watching YouTube tutorials with their yarn and crochet hooks laid out. Some guys dropped by. Their eyes widened. “Hey, ah…what exactly are you girls up to?”

Did they care? No! They were determined to make beanie hats.

I love it when people are undaunted by the fear of man. My son and his roommate saw something they want to learn and pursued it with passion.

Crocheting involves practice. Like most things, there’s a learning curve. Honing a new skill requires many attempts to get it right, and this craft is no exception.

But in the end, our whole family received new beanies for Christmas!

What about learning to hear God’s voice? I don’t think there are any YouTube tutorials on it…no apps. Yet we have a far better Teacher. Still, we need to position ourselves to hear. Like a sailboat—what good is it if we don’t put up the sail?

Don’t miss the listening prayer opportunity at the end of this blog.

“I have many more things to say to you,

but you cannot bear them now.” Jesus told His disciples.

“…When He the Spirit of truth, comes,

He will guide you into all the truth,

for He will not speak on His own initiative,

but whatever He hears.

He will speak and… disclose to you what is to come.”[i]

Jesus called Himself the good shepherd. He calls his sheep by name. A stranger they simply will not follow, but they’ll follow Him because they know His voice.[ii]

The biblical premise for hearing God’s voice is that Jesus Himself said—My sheep hear my voice.

Not just people in the Bible, not just anointed pastors and teachers, not just intercessors, or special people like Brother Lawrence or Mother Teresa. No—He said His sheep! That’s you and me.

Do you recognize the sound, the experience, the texture and tenor of God’s voice in your life? If not, don’t be discouraged. Be willing instead. It can be developed, just like learning a foreign language. And it starts with practice.

 

The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples,

That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me morning by morning,

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The Lord God has opened My ear…[iii]

Here is a listening prayer exercise that you can do in the quietness of your prayer time with God. First welcome His presence, and ask Him to speak. Quiet your mind to hear only the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Have paper and pen ready.

Pause after each item to write a few notes but don’t overthink this! Don’t discount the first thing that comes to mind even if it seems insignificant or just a whisper of a thought:

HOUSE – you are walking up to a house. What does it look like?

ROOM – you have a favorite room in the house. What is it used for, and what does it look like?

There are four pictures on the wall:

TREE – the first is a tree. What does it look like?

ANIMAL – the second is some kind of creature from the Animal Kingdom (as opposed to the Plant Kingdom). What is it, what does it look like, and what is it doing?

WATER – the third picture is some kind of water. What is it? Where are you in relation to the water?

ARTICLE FOR YOUR HEAD – the fourth picture is something you would put on or wear on your head. What is it?

JESUS – Finally Jesus enters the room and comes up to you. He has something in His hand to give you. What is it?

Next time (November 6^th) I will write about how to unpack anything God might be showing you through this exercise. Remember biblical symbolism as it pertains to colors, numbers, and symbolic images used in dream interpretation. Will you try?

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Note: If you can’t wait two weeks, email me and I’ll send you rest of the instructions!

This exercise was given to me by Andrea Bareither and Katie Mazza.

[i] John 16:12-13

[ii] John 10:4, 5, 11

[iii] Isaiah 50:4-5a