Isaiah 55:3, 10-11—Listening to God

“Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you. . . .

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Response

Consider the following questions:

In what ways does God speak to God’s people today? List as many as you can.

• How are you “giving ear” to God? How is your family doing this? How is your church listening to God?
• How is God accomplishing what God desires in your life? In your church? In your community?
• How might you incorporate more silence into your day for the purpose of “giving ear” to God?

Psalm 116:1-2—God listens to you

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

Response

Consider the following questions:

• Do you truly believe—with your heart as well as your head—that God listens to you?
• How, when, and where do you speak to God?
• Do you know specific people who need a listening ear today?
• How might you increasingly become someone who “inclines your ear” to others?

James 1:19—Listening to Others

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. . . .

Response

Consider the following questions:

• Being “quick to listen” is an enormous challenge in Western culture, where we value speaking over listening. Do you know someone who is an intentionally deep listener? How does interacting with that person make you feel?
• Is being “slow to speak” valued in your circles? Why or why not? How might you cultivate that virtue more deeply?
• Social media provides myriad examples of what happens when people are not “slow to become angry.” How have indignation and anger taken over our various interactions with each other, and what might we do to counteract that harmful tendency?
• How might people flourish in new ways if each of us were “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”? Think of some specific examples.

Psalm 19:1-4—Listening to God’s Creation

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
heir words to the ends of the world.

Response

Consider the following questions:

• We often appreciate the beauty of creation, but how often do we truly see it as a communication from God?
• How does God’s creation “pour forth speech” about God?
• How might we become better listeners to the testimony of God’s creation?
• How can each of us use our gifts and talents to help God’s creation flourish?