Whenever we speak to someone else,
we want to have their undivided attention, don’t we?
Unless we have their attention, we cannot
be sure they are listening to what we have to say.
Being honest, most people are not very good listeners.
Some are subtle about not listening, but others are
obvious with their lack of interest. Some appear to be
listening, but are actually thinking about what they are
going to say as soon as we finish what we are saying.
Some are rude and will interrupt us before we finish what we
are saying. The body language of some tells us they are impatient
listeners who are anxiously anticipating the end of what we have
to say. Some will turn to listen to another person speaking before
we have finished what we are saying. Some take ‘not listening’ to
a whole new level and will walk off while we are still speaking.
If they are not going to listen to us, then why would we want to
speak to them? It can be awkward and discouraging whenever
someone has indicated they are not listening to us during a casual,
friendly conversation.
However, if it is important information or instructions, we can’t be
sure that our words will be beneficial to them. If someone is partially
listening, they may miss some vital information and form their own
conclusions from fragments of what they have heard (in some cases
it could be dangerous for them).
When God wants to speak to us, we should give Him our undivided
attention, shouldn’t we? When God wants to give us important,
life-changing information, He has ways of getting our attention.
How does God get our attention?
When we walk in the Spirit and alert to God, we will hear what
He’s saying to us as a natural part of our spiritual walk. This
is the Christian life – living a life that is keenly responsive to
the voice of God in whatever fashion He chooses to speak to us.
Unfortunately, there are times when we choose to do things our
own way and as a result, we head in a direction that can lead to
disappointment or disaster. Even though God is speaking, we
aren’t listening; we aren’t tuned in to Him.
We may ask ourselves, “What are some ways God gets our attention?”
Here is a sampling of some ways He gets our attention:
A Restless Spirit:
God may use a persistent restlessness in order to guide us in our life.
When we are restless, we want to find some form of relief, right?
Why would God get our attention in this way? If we have a constant
restlessness, it should eventually drive us to seek answers from Him.
When we are seeking Him, we are ready to listen, aren’t we?
An Unsolicited Word From Another Person:
We can receive messages from others that are not necessarily positive.
However, there are times when someone can say something to us that
is encouraging, and it is just what we needed to hear at the time. A few
simple words from someone else could be the ‘trigger’ that causes us
to pray in a new way, asking God for His direction. Whenever we are
asking for answers, we will listen more intently.
Unusual Circumstances (Both Bad & Good):
Circumstances can open our hearts, our minds, and our ears to God
and what He has to say to us. It could be circumstances created by
God, by bad choices we have made, or a result of any other causes.
It could be an illness, an accident, bankruptcy, divorce, bad decisions
by loved ones, the loss of a loved one, etc.
However, it could also be unusual blessings of abundance. Think
about that for a moment – the God of the universe (our God) may
sometimes get our attention by blessing us in special ways. Has
He ever gotten your attention in this way? He has gotten mine this
way and it is a time of decisions. The first decision is to recognize
it is a blessing from Him that has nothing to do with anything I did.
Secondly, we have to decide what He is saying to us through His
blessings (which means we need to pray about it). It makes sense
that if God blesses us in a way to get our attention, then He has
some expectations of us, right?
Whatever the circumstance, we can be driven to our knees with a
desire to hear from (and rely on) God for help (sometimes it may be
for the first time in our lives). It can be a time when we become less
dependent on ourselves and more dependent on God (which is what
He wants of us).
Unanswered Prayer:
Sometimes God answers many of our prayers in the way in which we
want them answered. But there are times when God will delay an answer
to our prayer, or answer a prayer with a definitive “No”, in order to get
our attention or keep us from straying off course. He knows that when
all of our prayers seem to be answered, we can become complacent and
simply cruise through life without listening to what He wants to say to us.
There’s no such thing as an accident with God. Our Father may use many
different methods to get our attention in order to keep us in alignment with
His will for our lives. But we need to always remember that He knows
exactly what’s best for us, and He will never quit trying to reach us, so that
He can guide us into the wonderful plans and purposes He has in store for
each of us.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11).
BREAD FOR BELIEVERS 
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