LISTEN MORE

Posted on May 22, 2014 by leobawa

“Listen carefully to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears” (Job 13:17). “A wise person will listen and continue to learn, and an understanding person will gain direction” (Prov 1:5).

In the past few days, God has been encouraging me to listen to him more and pay more attention to those he has committed to my hands. I thought I should share my reflection on this, hoping that it may bless someone. I have been thinking on this subject under the following topics:

1. The Discipline of Listening is Essential for All Kinds of Learning

As Jesus’ followers we may have all the opportunity to watch, feel, speak (asking questions) and even abide in his presence without listen to him. For instance Jesus said to the people following him in Mk 7:14, “Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. Your souls aren’t harmed by what you eat, but by what you think and say!” (LB). This Bible passage suggests the following:

i. Jesus loves people and wants them to listen to him. For by listening to Jesus God’s kind of faith is born and nurtured in humans (cf. Rom 10:17).

ii. Crowd finds it difficult to listen but Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and follow me (Jn 10:27-30). There are always more and more noisome activities in a crowd.

iii. Listening to Jesus brings about rapid understanding (in relationships, leaning situations, etc) and facilitates an enduring spiritual growth.

iv. However, much talking and less listening harm the soul; injure emotions and destroy intimacy in relationships.

We are only true disciples to the extent which we discipline ourselves to listen to the Master. And we are as faithful Disciple-makers to the extent which we are willing to listen to others.

2. Becoming Like Jesus is not Possible without Listening Him

Jesus spent his time on earth listening to God and to people. This seems to be the most important duty of all believers: Hearing God and be relevant to the world around us. But some of us either do not listen or spent more time listening to wrong things. Jesus listened to men and women, poor and rich, kings and their followers, friends and enemies: and had compassion on them. Today, almost every believer desires to be like Jesus but very, very few want to be like Jesus in the discipline of listening. We all want to be listened to, no one wants to take time to listen to others. We are all good speakers but poor listeners. How I wish the opposite is the case, we would then be excellent speakers. Using the function of body organs, humans are made up of two ears for hearing reasonability and one mouth. This means, it may be more profitable to listen twice or double before speaking.

True Disciples listen more and talk less. They use their two eyes to observe more and their two ears to listen more, as well as their two hands to do and feel more before speaking wisely. That is why wisdom is the right application of a cumulative knowledge in a given situation or circumstance. Lord, help my heart to be like Jesus in seeking to listen more to God and through God listen to people’s cry, pains, groaning and hurts.

3. People of God Listen to God’s Voice

When the people of God no longer listen to God they will take him for granted. I like the say that “Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God.”

It is God’s will that his people should listen to his voice. God’s lamentation in Psalm 81:11-13 does not only serve as warning to us but also reveal to us what it means to listen to God. The God laments:

But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways! (Psalm 81:11-13).

4. Learn to Listen More to Others

I like Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s discipleship reflection when he succinctly observed that “We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to ‘offer’ something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening.” May God help me to listen more daily as I seek to engage with the people around me.

5.Gateway Questions:

i. Write about a time when you benefited from having another Christian listen to you.

ii. Write about your experience as a listener. Are you a good listener? Did you feel like you were doing God’s work as you listened?

iii. Do you know someone in your community or in your church who never seems to be listened to?

iv. Would you prayer that God will grant you courage, compassion and availability to connect with them and allow them speak their hearts and mind to you?

LORD TRAIN MY EARS TO LISTEN TO YOU MORE AND MORE AND TO YOUR PEOPLE ALSO.

OPEN MY EYES

Posted on May 21, 2014 by leobawa

And may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself (Eph 3:18-19 LB).

God’s love, wisdom and miracles are all around us if our common senses were to function as God intended them. Although the stories of our lives are full of miracles and a manifestation of God’s amazing grace, yet we most times do not see his amazing performances. Our union with God makes us see God in our lives daily. And helps us do less and achieve more; know less but experience more of his love and grace in our lives. God’s blessings in our lives make us more productive in life and ministry. However, we may need to grow in our ability to see, hear, feel, and smell the goodness of God in our lives. This will help us to know that even our day to day living is a miracle from God.

I like Chaim Stern reflection in his Jewish book of prayer, Gates of Prayer. According to him:

Days pass and the years vanish, and we walk sightless among miracles. Lord, fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing; let there be moments when Your Presence, like lightning, illumines the darkness in which we walk. Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns unconsumed. And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness, and exclaim in wonder: How filled with awe is this place, and we did not know it! Blessed is the Eternal One, the holy God!

I like the saying, “Sell cleverness and buy bewilderment” in the wonders of God’s love. The above meditation highlights the following:
1.       My Insensitivity to God to the manifestation of God’s grace in my life and my world
2.       My Ingratitude to God for what he is doing in and through my life
3.       My Poor vision of who God is and what he is doing around me
4.       My Sinfulness before God before the holiness of God
5.       The helpless and hopelessness of humanity without God

However, it also reminds me of the following:
1.       God’s love for all humankind
2.       God’s desire for all men to be saved
3.       God’s provision for the salvation of mankind
4.       God’s power that is at work in human
5.       God’s undisputed character
6.       The wonders of God’s creation
7.       God’s global immanence, regardless of the News headlines.

When God opens our eyes to see his power and our ears to hear his word and feel the works of his presence each day, our faith becomes stronger and wiser. When we see the depth of his love for our lives our hearts and minds become more secure and we become more peaceful toward our neighbours. His glowing holiness is our beauty in ashes. May God help us to pause each day and reflect on his wonders in our lives. May God open our eyes to see that our very existence each day is a miracle from him.

DANGEROUS SIGNALS FOR GREAT PRAYERS

Posted on May 14, 2014 by leobawa

Prayer is very essential in Christian walk. As a disciple prayer is not only your life line to God by it level of dependence and submission to the Master is weighed. However, there are all sort of prayer attitude which make prayer to no longer be acceptable. Mathew 6:5-6 pointed out some negative factors that must be guarded against in our quest to be prayer warriors:

1. The danger of hypocritical prayer. Whereby a disciple of Christ prays for the wrong reasons, with the wrong motives (Mt 6:5). Remember, beyond all else, God looks at the heart not outward shows, or demonstrations during prayer.

2. The danger of making prayer our God. Prayer may be very good, great and wonderful but it is only so because God answers prayer. Therefore, our devotion to and love for prayer must not supersede that which we have for Christ (Mt 6:5). Do not hide under prayer to disobey the instructions of God. For by you may be praying amiss too.

3. The danger of esteeming prayer places over God and Christ Himself. Although our great time of prayer may be connected to special places that does not mean that it was the place or location that made the prayer great. I think it is God’s presence not places that gives us amazing encounters during prayer. We should not substitute God’s presence for a place or locations thereby limiting God’s presence to a space or time. True worshipers must worship God in spirit and truth anywhere and at anytime ( Mt 6:5).

4. The danger of vain repetition. Although in our walk with God as disciples it is possible to creatively seek God in different ways using different means but we must guard against empty swollen words or phrases that are dry and empty. Although there is not among of words that are few or too much for God to hear us, yet we must not pray to impress people in anyway. Don’t make prayer too formal or too casual, too long or too short that its meaning is no more discernible by the people. We must discern the presence of God and approach him in awe. Don’t just say memorized prayer only, repeating yourself everyday and always. It is helpful to have conversational prayer with the father in heaven (Mt 6:7, cf. Eccl 5:1-6).

6. The danger of sharing in the glory of God by feeling great and proud when our prayer is answered by God. Prayer should not result in self-glorifying or self-conceit. Do not create the attitude or atmosphere of super spirituality because of answered prayer or length of time spend in the place of prayer (Mt 6:8)

Finally, the best suggestion for how to prayer is found in the words of Jesus teaching to his disciples on how to pray and the acceptable things to pray for. In any case, do not forget your intimacy with God, his kingdom, his will for the nations, his worship etc. in your prayer experiences. May God answer our prayer in Jesus name.