It Gets Louder when You Listen

The other night Jes and I were laying in bed, with the windows open, falling asleep. The crickets outside were making their usual noise as the sounds of night filled our room. At that moment the Holy Spirit breathed through my lips and spoke something so profound that I would remain awake for the next 2 hours. He said, "It gets louder when you listen". It hit me like a ton of bricks because in that moment I no longer could just hear the crickets but as I listened it became a symphony of night that just had the volume turned up.

I immediately understood what God was saying to us as my heart bounced between joy and conviction. The difference between hearing and listening is when you are listening to something then you give your attention to that something. Its not the volume that God speaks to us in that determines how loud His voice is to us, its the attention that we give to His Voice. Yes, God speaks with a still small voice but if you would Listen to that still small voice then it wouldn't sound so small anymore. There is more power in a whisper to someone who knows how to listen then a shout in the ear of someone who only knows how to hear.

If listening to God's voice increases the volume of His voice in our ears, then it will also have the same affect for any other voices in our lives. Many of us wonder why the enemy's voice seems louder than Gods voice and struggle to wrap our heads around it. We must not forget that both God and the devil are speaking but we are given the freedom to choose who we listen to. If we give attention to the enemy and his lies then they too will increase in volume.

Our passivity to listening to the voice of the Lord has rendered His voice a background noise. If we would examine our prayer lives, how much of it is given to listening? How much of our attention is given to the Voice of the Lord? Whatever we give our attention to is what we truly value and what we truly value we give pre-eminence in our lives. Prayer is not only talking to God but also listening to God. Any healthy relationship is made up of good listeners. I believe that our prayer lives would be completely revolutionized if we would start to take time to listen.

"It get's louder when you listen"



Understand [this], my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick
to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. (James 1:19 AMP)


Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. (James 1:19 MSG)