READ:
In last week’s devotion, we started reflecting on the voice of the Lord. We believe in and serve a God that speaks to his people, and this is extremely significant to the way in which we live our lives. Put simply: if our King is speaking, we should listen. So let’s continue meditating on the importance of asking God to tune our ears, eyes, and hearts to his will.
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Jeremiah 29:13 NLT
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 NLT
I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.
Psalms 34:4 NLT
“Receptivity is not a single thing; rather, it is a compound, a blending of several elements within the soul. It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have. From this it may be gathered that it can be present in degrees, that we may have little or more or less, depending upon the individual. It may be increased by exercise or destroyed by neglect. It is not a sovereign and irresistible force which comes upon us as a seizure from above. It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift if it is to realize the purpose for which it was given.”
– A W Tozer
REFLECT:
What do these passages of scripture and quote from Tozer teach us about training our receptivity to and through the Spirit? What does it look like to “increase by exercise or destroy by neglect” our sensitivity to the Lord’s voice?
Why is persistence so crucial in our asking and our listening in prayer? What does consistency do for our receptivity to the Lord?
PRAY:
Father, you spoke and creation was. You speak and we are.
Jesus, you call us by name. You are the Word that saves.
Holy Spirit, will you teach us to hear what you hear, to speak what you’re speaking.
Amen. Amen. Amen.