0213 專註地聽
撒母耳回答說：「請說，僕人敬聽。」《撒母耳記上3:10》
只因我在一件事上仔細而專註地聽神了，並不意味着我在每一件事上會聽祂。我的心和思想對神所說的話無感，這表明我對祂缺乏愛和尊重。如果我愛我的朋友，我會本能地理解他想要什麼。耶穌說：「你們是我的朋友…」（約翰福音 15:14）。本周我是否違背了主的某些命令？如果我意識到這是耶穌的命令，我就不會故意違背。但我們大多數人都對神表現出難以置信的不尊重，因為我們甚至不聽祂，祂也可能從來沒有和我們說過話。
我靈性生活的目標是與耶穌基督如此緊密地認同，以至於我總是會聽見神，並且知道神總是聽見我（參見約翰福音11:41）。如果我與耶穌基督聯合，我通過專註的聽而一直聽見神。一朵花、一棵樹或神的一位僕人，都可以向我傳遞神的信息。阻礙我聽的，是我對其它事情的注意力。並不是我不想聽神的話，而是我沒有專註在生活的正確領域，我專註於事物，甚至服事，和我自己的信念。神可以說祂想說的，但我就是不聽祂。神兒女的態度應該永遠是：「請說，袮的僕人敬聽。」如果我沒有發展和培養專註的聽，我只能在某些時候聽見神的聲音。在其它時候，我變得對祂耳聾，因為我的注意力是在其它事物上，就是那些我認為我必須做的事情。這不是神兒女的生活。今天你聽見神的聲音了嗎？
來自章伯斯的智慧
我們面臨當神溫柔時我們嚴厲，當神嚴厲時我們溫柔的危險。《神的愛—無敵安慰的信息》
0213 The Devotion of Hearing
Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” —1 Samuel 3:10
Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends…” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.
The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are in danger of being stern where God is tender, and of being tender where God is stern. –The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 673 L