The Lord guides, leads, and directs those who are listening.

I can remember when my son was about ten years old. He called my workplace, and I answered the phone. He said, "Hello, Mom. This is your son, Dylon."I burst out laughing, thinking it was preposterous that he could think I wouldn't immediately discern his sweet voice. I am his mother. We are in a relationship. I carried him in my womb. I know him. I've heard his voice and responded a thousand times.

The same can be said of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He knows us. He’s in relationship with us. He’s heard our voice many times, and we should practice hearing His. Most of us struggle to hear the voice of God, because we don't take time to actually listen. We spend much of our prayer time offering a laundry list of needs. And yes, of course, we should make our requests known to the Lord. However, how often do we stop and listen? Consider today’s Scripture. Our own ears will “hear him” the Word says. We must take the time to consider how often we are talking and how often we are listening.

We are presented daily with many choices. Who do we marry? What job do we accept? Where should we send our children to school? What church do we attend? Is this a good friend to spend time with? Our God cares about the things that concern us and the details of our lives. But to know God's will, we must listen. We must sit quietly and wait upon the Lord. When we pray, we must get good at the silence. We must be comfortable in the listening. We don't need to hurry to the next thing, seeking to fill the void with noise. We must simply sit still and listen.

Remove all distractions. While I love to enter the Lord's presence with praise and worship, I also find that sitting in complete silence yields excellent return on my ability to hear God’s voice. This is when the Lord speaks. This is when I learn how the Lord speaks. This is when I identify His patterns and ways, weaved throughout Scripture - in the silence. God begins to speak to those willing to listen, get quiet, and be still. He whispers a thought, a direction, a prompting into your spirit. We can begin to hear from the Lord when we get quiet and practice listening.

(Note: As discussed in day 1, it is also important to spend time in Scripture daily, so as to identify how he speaks. While practicing listening is critical, also know that you cannot discern truth from lies when you don't know what truth is, so Scripture study is imperative.)

Point to Ponder:

• Does your prayer life consist of both speaking and listening? Why or why not? How might listening before the Lord break the bondage of indecisiveness?