Page 27 - HowTo'sOfChristianLife

7. Listen openly.

II Timothy 3:16 - “All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:”

To listen openly means to be willing to hear God correct you as
well as comfort you; to hear God convict you as well as assure you.

You may be looking for a word of comfort from God when He may
have a word of correction. If you come to God only for comfort and
prosperity, only for what is soothing to the ear, then you will not
always hear what God has to say. If you are unwilling to hear the
correction, before long your need for correction will increase.

As you listen to Him humbly, dependent on the Holy Spirit, God
will bring to your mind areas that need to be corrected. You must
accept both the positive and the negative. Many of you have gotten
on your knees before God, and He spoke to you; but He didn’t say
what you wanted Him to say. And you certainly didn’t want to listen;
you didn’t want to hear.

Even in the correction God has a positive goal in mind, and that is
to prevent you from making disastrous mistakes and ruining your
life. When you come to Him with a mental “spiritual sifter” -- picking
out only what you want to hear, you will not hear accurately.

8. Listen attentively.

Listening to God demands your full attention. If He speaks through
His Word, through His Spirit, through others, or through circumstance,
then you must live every day attentively and alertly. Someone may
say something in passing which gives you a godly warning or
admonition. God intended for it to drop into your spirit, nurture the
truth, and bring it to life, letting it bud and blossom into correction
and comfort.

25