Devotional Day 2: Listen

• James 1:19 : "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger."

• 1 John 5:14 : "And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us."
• Listening applies not only to us, but to God as well. We must open our hearts and minds to receive what God wants to tell us. We must also understand that God listens! God answers prayers, not always in the way you think or want, but still...He answers you in your time of need when you seek comfort or just someone to talk to.

         Listening is an important and vital skill for us to learn. If you think about it, we spend the majority of our lives listening! Whether its listening to your parents, teachers, bosses, ect., we all receive important information by listening. This same thing applies to your relationship with God! You just have to learn to stop and listen. Like it says in James 1:19 above, its important for us to listen and understand what's being said before we act. God provides a lot of the answers to our problems and situations in life both in His word and in your heart and mind. Many times we get caught up in our busy lives and forget to just stop...just for a second. Think about God, talk to Him. Listening to God doesn't have to be about negative things either or just when you need help with a problem! You can listen and understand the path God wants for you in life, the happiness He wishes for you. God will answer your prayers as long as you stay open minded and realize that it might not be in the way you hope for or the way you think it should happen. He has a plan, and He knows what's best. Search for ways to understand how He intended things to play out.

         Another part of listening to remember is knowing that God listens to us! Like I touched on in the paragraph above, when we pray, when we hope, when we have faith, God listens and answers prayers. A lot of us feel that we can handle all our problems on our own, but we can't. Don't get me wrong! I highly doubt that we need to pray every time we can't figure out what to wear to school or what kind of video game we should buy! Sometimes we know through God's word what we should do about certain circumstances, but sometimes we just don't know! We get lost every now and then, and that's where its important to remember that God is there to listen to us. He is there to help and tells you He wants to! If you have an problem you're just not quite sure how to handle then I urge you to stop, sit down, and talk to God. Tell Him what's going on just like you would your best friend or your parents. Trust Him.  

                                                                   Questions/Application

• Do you ever take time to stop and listen to God? Why or why not?
• If you have a busy schedule, when can you make time for God to listen to you and for you to listen to Him? Before bed? While brushing your teeth?
• What has been a time where God has answered your prayers, but not in a way you thought He would? Did things still work out and what lesson was taught?