“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31). Note that the first of these two commandments begins with the word “hear.” God wants us to hear Him, to know His voice in a very deep and personal way. He doesn’t just want us to read about Him (although this is a necessary part of our Christian walk); He wants us to hear Him, especially in those areas that pertain to our individual walks with Him. He calls us each to a specific walk and service in His Kingdom, so we need to keep our ears tuned to His voice. How do we do this? Through prayer, through worship, and through meditating upon His Word. As we talk to our Heavenly Father, it is good to take time to listen, as well. In Psalm 46:10, He instructs us to “Be still and know that I am God…” Remember, conversation is not a “one-way street”; it’s more like a two-way street with traffic flowing in both directions. What does this mean for us? How can we apply this to our prayer lives? The answer is very simple: Stop talking at some point and let God speak to us! Prayer is not all about us—our wants and needs; it is also about what God wants and needs from us, as His children and servants. He has a lot He wants to share with us, too! As we pause in our prayer times and really listen, we will hear His voice. He has promised us that, and we know His promises to us are “yes” and “amen”!
