Listening 

   “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” (Matt 13: 9) 

   Jesus often spoke in parables, stories that had a message.  Often those to whom He spoke heard his words but didn’t understand the message.  We hear with our ears, but we listen and understand with our heart.  If our heart isn’t engaged the words we hear bear no fruit.

   Has anyone ever said to you that you aren’t “hearing” what they are saying?  What they really mean is you aren’t listening to their message.  Sound waves strike our eardrums resulting in hearing what is said, but it is with our heart and mind that we understand the message.

   We hear so many things but listen to so few.  The television in many homes is on virtually all day but no one is listening; the radio is playing but the sound goes unnoticed.  In the same way, we can be hearing or reading the words of scripture but never really listening and understanding God’s message.

   It's interesting that “listen” and “silent” contain the same letters.  To fully listen, we must silence our hearts and minds.  Listening is an acquired skill, it takes practice.  We must learn to shut out the world and all its noise and distractions.  God doesn’t yell, He whispers.  If we want to hear Him we must learn to listen.