by: Julie Sparkman
Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh…
Hitching to the Rock
“He alone is my rock and my salvation, I shall not be shaken.”
Psalms 62:6
Take a moment to attend to your heart as you come to this time before God. In what state do you come?
Tired?
Distracted?
Desperate?
Ask Him to reveal your true heart’s desire regardless of what you may be feeling at the moment:
“As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you
oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When
shall I come and appease before God?”
Psalms 42:1-2
Consider playing a worship song, such as “Word of God Speak” by Mercy Me, to help you center in Him.
As you read the scriptures below, begin by asking God to reveal Himself to you. Then read the scriptures not only as the word of God, but as the word of God to you. Let your attention be drawn to perhaps only one word or a phrase that emerges from what you read. Let the questions provided help guide you in hearing His voice.
1). Read Psalms 1:1-3
What word or phrase draws your attention? Do you long for the sustenance described in verse three? Prayerfully reflect on exactly how the scripture indicates that this “green” state occurs. What might that process look like in your life? Are there practices or relationships that you need to reconsider or repent of? What do you sense God would have you change or strengthen?
2). Read 1 Kings 19:9-13
We often feel frustration that God speaks to others, but not to us. Hearing Him requires much focus and intentionality. Why do you think God chose not to reveal Himself in “big” ways such as the wind, earthquake, or fire, but instead He chose a gentle whisper? Prayerfully reflect on how well you are presently attuned to hear a gentle whisper.
“It is clear that we are usually surrounded by so much outer
noise, that it is truly hard to hear our God when He is
speaking to us. We have often become deaf, unable to
know when God calls us and unable to understand which
direction He calls us. A spiritual life requires discipline,
because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly
speaks, but whom we seldom hear. That is true prayer:
being ‘all ear’ for God. The core of prayer is indeed listening,
obediently standing in the presence of God.”
~Henri Nouwen
*In the course called idol Addiction each lesson in the workbook offers a Reflect and Process section with entries such as this to use in time spent with God.