Day 16 - Prayer is a Two Way Street

“My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.” (Psalm 62:5, AMP)

Prayer is the lifeline to being a disciple of Jesus. We must stay in contact with Him to receive His instructions so that we can do what He wants us to do. Having our spiritual ears and eyes open to hear what He is saying and see what He is showing us is communication with God.

It is important to remember that communication is a two-way street. It involves speaking but also listening. It is interesting how God created man and how we grow as children. God gave us two ears and one mouth. As a child grows they learn how to listen before they can speak an intelligible word. They understand what you are saying to them before they can communicate back with their own words. But when they discover that they can talk and use intelligible words, watch out, they will talk your ears off. Have you ever met a child that loves to talk? Ask the "Why?" question. It is hard to get them to be quiet.

Sometimes it can be that way with our communication to God. It can be one way only and we can be doing all the talking without even realizing that He wants to say anything. We meet with Him, tell Him all our problems and give Him all of our requests then leave His presence and never wait to hear Him speak to us.

As disciples we should mature and develop the art of listening and waiting.

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)

Being still is not easy when you are a child and have learned that you have a voice and a lot of energy.

To wait on God is to discipline yourself to listen to His voice. And to learn how to enjoy His presence without demanding anything from Him. Sometimes God just wants to speak a word to us and with that word fill us with the strength that we need for the day ahead of us. If we are doing all the talking we can't hear what He wants to say.

Could you be a better listener? Of course, we all could be... How can we practice listening? How do we tune our ears into what the Lord is saying? Are we nervous or disappointed when He doesn't say anything? If we think that He is "silent" do we go to His written word to listen for His voice?

Say this: I have spiritual ears to hear what my Heavenly Father is telling me. I am tuning my ears to hear what He is saying to me today.

Pray this: "Lord, you made me to communicate with You. To hear Your voice and to talk with You. I desire to develop my ability to hear, so help me become more sensitive to Your voice. Help me develop the ability to wait in Your presence. In Jesus Name"