Learning to Listen

There are different ways to listen. We can listen passively. We can choose not to listen at all. Or, we can listen intently.

If you were going skydiving, you would listen very carefully to your instructor. You would listen when he or she tells you how to use the parachute, where the ripcord is located, and when to pull it. Why? Your life depends on it.

If you want to hear God speak to you from His Word, it comes down to how you listen. You need to listen as though your life depends on it, because it does.

If you want to be a true disciple of Jesus, then you need to slow down and learn to listen. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31–32 NKJV).

Sometimes that verse is taken out of context. We hear people using it to describe all kinds of so-called truths they want to pass on to someone else. But this verse is very specific. It isn’t referring to just any truth; this is specific, absolute truth found exclusively in the pages of Scripture. The context is reading, studying, knowing, and living the Scriptures. That truth will set us free.

The truth we find in the Bible is the only absolute truth. Jesus prayed, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17 NKJV) and said “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 NKJV). This is the only absolute truth we can be certain of. And when we understand what God is saying in His Word, it sets us free.

If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, then you will carefully read, study, and live according to God’s Word.