Listen

Listen: give one’s attention to a sound; take notice and act on what someone says; be alert and ready to hear something

In last week’s article, I spoke about what’s right, in terms of making decisions. And this week’s word, I feel, goes hand-in-hand with it. 

As Christians, when we go to make a decision, we should first always ask God, “Is this what You have for me?”

But oftentimes, we don’t stop to hear His answer. Or maybe you do, but you don’t feel like you hear anything.

Either way, this message is for you. 

When we ask God, “Is this right?” we must listen for the answer.

Asking God should never be the end of it; listening for an answer is the next step to making a decision.

When I looked up the definition of listen, I found some really amazing things that I’d like to share with you. The three main points of the definition I want to highlight are as follows:

Give One’s Attention

The first definition I found said to listen means to give your attention to a sound. Meaning, we have to give God our attention in order to hear the answer.

Are you giving Him your attention? If not, it’s unlikely you’ll hear the answer.

If you ask a friend to go out to lunch with you, and then walk away or stop giving them your attention before they can answer, you won’t ever know if they had agreed to go out with you. 

Be Alert and Ready To Hear

This is such a good point as well.

We should always be ready to hear God’s answer. We should always be alert and ready to hear God speak.

Take Notice and Act On What Is Said

Another definition said that listening means to take notice and act on what someone said. I read this and thought that’s good, because how often do we not notice what someone said, and how much more often do we not act on it?

A lot of times, we fail to really take notice of God’s instructions and act on it. 

God doesn’t have to come out of the sky and tell you what to do. Sometimes His answer comes in the form of His Word. Sometimes the answer comes out of the lips of your trusted mentor. Sometimes He reveals the answer to us through a song or in our personal thoughts.

But to truly listen, we not only have to take notice but act on it too.

This week I encourage you to listen to God. 

Give Him your attention. Be alert and ready to hear from Him. Take notice of what He says. And then act on what He’s said. 

Doing these things will help us hear more clearly from God in order to walk in His will and do what is right.

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Maddisen Sauls is the smile and voice behind the Everyday Joy blog as well as the author of the Word of the Week posts and the editor of by leaps and bounds. Throughout her life, Maddisen has worked as a reporter for small town newspapers, a School Age and Preschool teacher, and has acquired her ministerial license. 

An avid book reader and lover of the written word, Maddisen is passionate about using her favorite medium to reach the lost and the hurting, and to offer encouragement and hope to those struggling through life. 

Following her battle with depression, Maddisen has made it her mission to help other people through this journey and to bring joy to the lives of the people around her. 

You can find Maddisen on Instagram @maddisen.paige