INCLINE YOUR EARS

Proverbs 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

I like what The Message says, “Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice.” In order for a Rhema to come, we have to listen to the logos or the written Word of God. What are some good ways to listen to the Word of God? First, the Lord has ordained the fivefold ministry to preach and teach the Word of God. Romans 10:14 tells us, “How can they hear without a preacher?” We need to be hearing the Word of God from anointed men and women of God on a regular basis, and not just Sunday mornings but often. We have an opportunity that no other generation has had because of all the technology available to us. Make sure who you listen to is Word-based, not opinion; and when you are listening, think, “Is that Word or opinion?” The next way to hear the Word of God is by you reading it and speaking it out loud. You are really engaging the Word when you do that. You can also get scriptures daily and speak them over your life. Be careful not to be on autopilot and not engage your heart. We need to attend to the Word and incline our ears to His sayings.

Jesus gave us some instructions concerning hearing. It says in Mark 4:24, “And he said unto them, Take heed what you hear; with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you; and unto you that hear shall more be given.” Jesus’ warning was, “Be careful what you hear.” Why is it important what you hear? What you hear goes into your heart, which is the center of you; it is where you believe from. Jesus is saying that you don’t need to let things get into your heart that will keep you from believing. You don’t want to hear things that are full of people’s opinions. You don’t want to hear things that are full of unbelief and even bad doctrine. You don’t want to hear things that will bring doubt, like listening to people’s bad experiences or to people who are hurt, angry, and full of contempt.

Jesus also said to be careful how you hear something. Luke 8:18 says, “Take heed therefore how you hear; for whosoever has, to him shall be given; and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have.” This pertains to the Word of God because when you hear a message, make sure you are hearing with fresh ears and not with the attitude of, “I know this.” If you really know it, you will want to hear it over and over because it will increase your faith and reaffirm what you already believe. It is difficult to hear the Word of God if you have already made up your mind about something. If you think you already know something or all there is to know about it, then it is nearly impossible for the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Unfortunately, I have had this happen to me. You think you know the answer when you really don’t; but thank God, the Lord can go to an outside trusted person in your life and help you out.