My photo of park bench & canoe at Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

“While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.’” (Matthew 17:5, NIV)

There are such realties as “passive“ listening and “active” listening. Since we are flawed people who are so influenced by a sin nature, we tend to listen and pay attention to God and to others only when we are desperate and looking for some immediate benefit or help. There has been a realization that, even during my own daily devotional bible reading and prayer time with the Lord, I have often gone through the motions and missed the real voice of God. This is superficial passive listening —hearing without focusing on Jesus and acting immediately on the truth of God.

Active listening is defined in James 1:22 (NIV). “Do not merely listen to the word (of God), and so deceive ourselves. Do what it says. “

This is not mere hearing followed by inaction.  Real listening is intentionally hearing with our hearts and minds so that we act immediately in obedience to God’s word– leading to real life change. This is the one crucial difference between passive and active listening. I failed to learn this lesson for many years. God gave me a very Christ-like musician named Myrtle while I pastored my first church in Toronto. She was an older woman and very wise. Whenever she sensed that I was anxious and stressed, she would give me a promise from God’s word. For example, she quoted part of Isaiah 26:3 from the KJV version: “Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.“ She also reminded me of Psalm 138:8 (NASB). “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.” To this day, I remember these verses but wasted too much time and experienced too much stress by not acting immediately on what I heard with my ears. I did not actively or truly listen to God. So, what about you? Are you an active or a passive listener?

• Next Steps:

 1. As Matthew 17:5 reminds us, focus intensely and completely on Jesus. Filter out all other voices by listening to Him alone as God reminds each of us according to Matthew 17:5.

2. Listen with your heart and mind as you reflect on the above photo. Find the immense beauty and experience God’s empowering presence through His creation. Then, recall the words of Psalm 19 that speak of the glory of God through His creation and sing his praises! Surrender to this living God who reveals Himself in Jesus. Choose to continuously serve and represent Him to everyone you meet!

My photo of park bench & canoe at Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

“While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.’” (Matthew 17:5, NIV)

There are such realties as “passive“ listening and “active” listening. Since we are flawed people who are so influenced by a sin nature, we tend to listen and pay attention to God and to others only when we are desperate and looking for some immediate benefit or help. There has been a realization that, even during my own daily devotional bible reading and prayer time with the Lord, I have often gone through the motions and missed the real voice of God. This is superficial passive listening —hearing without focusing on Jesus and acting immediately on the truth of God.

Active listening is defined in James 1:22 (NIV). “Do not merely listen to the word (of God), and so deceive ourselves. Do what it says. “

This is not mere hearing followed by inaction.  Real listening is intentionally hearing with our hearts and minds so that we act immediately in obedience to God’s word– leading to real life change. This is the one crucial difference between passive and active listening. I failed to learn this lesson for many years. God gave me a very Christ-like musician named Myrtle while I pastored my first church in Toronto. She was an older woman and very wise. Whenever she sensed that I was anxious and stressed, she would give me a promise from God’s word. For example, she quoted part of Isaiah 26:3 from the KJV version: “Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.“ She also reminded me of Psalm 138:8 (NASB). “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.” To this day, I remember these verses but wasted too much time and experienced too much stress by not acting immediately on what I heard with my ears. I did not actively or truly listen to God. So, what about you? Are you an active or a passive listener?

• Next Steps:

 1. As Matthew 17:5 reminds us, focus intensely and completely on Jesus. Filter out all other voices by listening to Him alone as God reminds each of us according to Matthew 17:5.

2. Listen with your heart and mind as you reflect on the above photo. Find the immense beauty and experience God’s empowering presence through His creation. Then, recall the words of Psalm 19 that speak of the glory of God through His creation and sing his praises! Surrender to this living God who reveals Himself in Jesus. Choose to continuously serve and represent Him to everyone you meet!