Attitude of Listening

The Bible reminds us that God is interested in our hearts, all our thoughts and attitudes. Some think they can live any way they want. But our attitudes reflect our true nature and our attitude toward God. We see this principle through the way we listen to others. If we fail to listen carefully to others, we likely will not listen carefully to God. If we pay little attention to others, we likely will have the same attitude toward God.

These principles apply to our prayer life and to our relationship with God. Some think they can live any way they want and have no impact on our prayers. They think they can ignore His Word and then expect Him to answer our prayers.

But the Bible provides a different perspective. We see the direct correlation between listening to God and having our prayers answered. In fact, if we refuse to listen to His Word, our prayers can be “repulsive [to God].”

These are reasons to be good listeners, to pay attention and practice being sensitive in our relationships with others, to respect and honor God’s Word, to hide it in our hearts, to make it the standard of our lives, to listen for His voice, and to be sensitive to the leading of His Spirit. We need to cultivate an intimate relationship with Him and know He is close to us and hears our prayers.