Are you listening?

Every day we make thousands of choices. They can be as small as what we are going to wear that day or as big as what job we will do in the future. My question is, at what point to you consult God? Do you bring Him in at the beginning of a thought process? Do you run things past Him after you’ve already made the decision just to check? Or do you not really ask Him at all? After all, surely He has much bigger things to worry about than your little problems.

The truth is that God loves it when you ask Him things. He will always have time for you and always be on hand to listen and offer advice. The problem is we’re just not listening hard enough.

Imagine going to see the doctor because you’re feeling unwell and saying, “You are the best doctor ever. You have helped me and my family so much over the years. I feel privileged to call myself your patient. I come to you now to ask if you can help me as I am feeling very unwell at the moment. Thank you. Bye!” and then just walk out of the surgery before the doctor has a chance to speak. That would be crazy. What is the point in asking for help from a doctor if you don’t give him time to give it to you? Sadly, this is the way we can treat prayer sometimes. We spend lots of time talking to God but not enough time listening to what God has to say to us.

I used to believe when God spoke to us it came via a big booming voice from the sky that sounded a bit like Darth Vader from Star Wars, but in my teens I learnt that God can speak through lots of things. He can speak through other people. Sometimes a complete stranger can tell you something and you just know it comes from God.

He can speak through dreams, pictures and even things you see on TV.

I’m not saying that you should spend five hours in silent prayer every time you change your socks, I’m saying you should try to always be open to what God is trying to say. In my experience God will always let you know if you are going in the wrong direction, but whether you choose to hear Him is your choice.

So this week take time to listen to God. For every minute you spend talking to God take at least two minutes to listen.

Dan Brown, 30/03/2009

Feedback:

	Kat-Louise (Guest)	30/03/2009 16:44
thanx for that! ive been having a tough time lately, and i know now that its because i havnt been listenin to god when he trys to help me. so to everyone out there who is having a tough time, i really reccommend that you open your eyes and listen to what god has to say about your situation. god bless all of you! Kat-Louise xx
	Phoebe Light	01/04/2009 22:40
i was just thinking this morning about how i haven't really been listening to God... and then tonight i check my email, and there's the email from hope revolution telling me to check out the hope revolution website. so i do. i read this article. and it's true- God does speak through lots of things. he spoke to me today through the internet. so i'm gonna try to listen more. thanks and God bless. Phoebe =)
	Twisile (Guest)	27/04/2009 01:33
how do you know that god is talking to you.. have you watched Joan of Arcadia? its cool
	jonathan jordan	27/04/2009 11:04
this is a great message, but I've always wondered, is there a line that has to be drawn somewhere? like for example if we do see something on tv or if some-one says something to us, is this always to be taken as God speaking to us or is there room for coincidence? Or maybe when its God speaking you just know?!
	Kat-Louise (Guest)	28/04/2009 17:03
when god speaks to me, i often just know that its god. something about it just says 'gods at work!'. but my youth leader says that a good way to know if its god speaking is to wait. if you keep getting the same message over and over again, the high probability is that its god speaking to us. if you are worried, then pray about it and/or talk to a youth leader/christian friend/parent/church elder. god bless you all! kat x
	Twisile (Guest)	02/05/2009 12:21
thank you Kat-Louise
	Jenny (Guest)	05/05/2009 18:12
Generally I think you know if God is trying to tell you something, but I would say if you have an inkling that God is speaking to you, and it is in keeping with His Character, trust Him and believe that you have heard from God. If you think you've heard from Him to go and talk to a certain person go and do it, and if you look like a fool, well you've done it for God! There are times for waiting on God, but there are also times for action where you just need to believe and then act! xxxxx
	jonathan jordan	07/05/2009 08:46
thank you Kat-Louise and Jenny!