Listen to His Voice

"Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to His voice, and cling to him." 

Deuteronomy 13:4

I remember reading the book, "Hearing God's Voice" by Cindy Jacobs. It was about the importance of listening and that if we are not quiet, we will not be able to hear God's voice. How very true, for we cannot listen if we are talking. This reminds me of when I was the substitute teacher for a Kindergarten class a few weeks ago.  I was in the front of the class, explaining to the children, how to complete their next assignment. I glanced at the class and they were looking at one another and they were talking. I stopped talking and just observed them talking to each other. As I watched them for awhile, I saw them laughing, talking and paying no attention to me. Then, after awhile, I think they realized that I was quiet and slowly they began to look up at me. They realized that it was "quiet" and now, they were finally ready to listen! I thought of that situation this morning, for isn't that just like us? We may be so busy talking to God and asking Him to answer our prayers, that He may not be able to be heard over our own voices. How often do I listen and just be still so that I can hear His voice? No wonder I miss what He is trying to tell me, and that is because I am making too much noise. In order to hear His voice, we just need to be still and allow Him to talk. Just like the class, the more that they talked to each other, I became quiet. Don't you think that when God wants to tell us something and we are doing all the talking, He becomes like the teacher that has to wait for the children to be quiet?! God knows when He has our attention and we are ready to listen. God will speak to us when we are quiet and really listening. What a great lesson today, to take time out to be quiet and listen to His voice. That is really what God wants from us.

Question: When was the last time you prayed and were quiet so you could hear God's voice? How can you become a better listener when it comes to hearing His Voice?