Let me start by saying there is no “perfect Christian”. We strive to be as close to God as we can, but we all fail. We mess up. Thank God he is a forgiving, patient God. There is none righteous, no not one. No matter how ‘good’ we perceive others to be, everyone has to seek forgiveness. Everyone has to work at being better. And it’s hard. We drop the ball. We forget to pray. We fail to read and study our Bible. Worldliness creeps in. And before you know it we feel far from God. Wondering if he hears us in the times when we DO pray, and struggling to get anything personal from our Bible reading. Feeling like he doesn’t speak to us anymore. Here are some possible reasons we may feel this way:
- Are you listening for Him? Do you go into your Bible reading with a prayer for God to speak to your soul with something fresh? Have you prepared yourself before Church to glean something from the preaching? Listening for Him requires preparation. Exodus 3:3-4 says “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” God may wait to speak to us until He sees that we are present, and focused on him. Listening.
- Are you humbling yourself to Him? When he does speak to you, do you yield your will and desires to what he asks you to do? Genesis 17:3 says “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying…” We hear God’s voice over all others when we fall on our face and humble ourselves before Him. Has he perhaps already spoken, and you didn’t want to submit to the message he had for you?
- Have you sought for Him in your circumstance? God is always there. In the highs and the lows. He is oftentimes just waiting for us to seek for Him. Search out his hand/voice in what you’re going through. Go to the Bible and see what it has to say about your circumstance. Watch around your life for the little nuggets God will drop your way. Blessings that let you know he is there. Safety and peace in your heart, even in the struggles. Acknowledge even the little things. You will begin to see perhaps God is speaking after all.
- Have you been still long enough to receive the whole message? Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” We are a society today that wants what we want, when we want it. And we don’t like to wait on things. But we are directed time and again from scripture to wait on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14) God’s timetable is not ours. And trust me, you would rather have things God’s way than your own.
- Is there unconfessed sin in your life that is making you dull of hearing? We can let sins build up and get in between us and our savior. Matthew 13:15 says “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” Make sure to keep your relationship with God fresh. Seek forgiveness regularly, and get the junk out of your heart so you can hear what he has to say to you today!
