[I apologize for sending this out late, my Internet connection has been out all day until now. I am sorry for sending this so late!]

Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”

Today, we continue on the subject of hearing from God. We look at a verse from Ecclesiastes, which reminds us that when we go before the Lord, we shouldn’t be so hasty in our words, that we take control of the conversation with God Almighty, and we honestly make it a One-Sided conversation.

It is good for us to read the verse before today’s, along with today’s: Verses 1-2 “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”

Now, the house of God, is not a church, but is the Temple of the Living God, which is each and every believer and follower of our Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:16). Therefore, we should ALWAYS be more ready to hear God, than to talk and talk and talk. As said in the verse after today’s, a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

In being reminded that we need to spend some time with our Lord, talking with Him each and every single day despite our busy lives, we need to be reminded not to change our conversations from talking WITH God, to talking AT God. Our Lord is always eager to hear our voices, and to talk with us, but He also wants us to realize that He has so much to offer to us, to tell us, and bless us with, and let us know . . . if we only listen! Ultimately, what is the point of prayer and talking with the Lord of All Creation? It is for relationship, to grow in it, and it is to receive from Him the things we ask, and the things He wants to give us! How can we possibly get closer in relationship if we only talk and then leave, or how can we possibly receive from Him, if we talk and talk, and when He tries to talk or bless us we put our hand up and say, “Wait, I’m not finished,” and continue talking? How would you like it if when you see someone, all they do is talk and talk and talk, and you can’t get a word in at all! Honestly, wouldn’t it make you want to avoid that person? So we should not be that way to our Lord, most certainly!

We should not be people who talk so much that the other person we are talking to, can only get in one word for every 2, 3, 4, or more words we speak! It should be equal, or perhaps less on our behalf. This is for people, and most certainly God as well, as we are told in James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” Of course, when dealing with people, we may wind up talking more than the other person because the other person doesn’t really talk much, but is a listener more than anything. I am like that, I’m one who prefers to listen, instead of talk. So, sometimes when people talk with me . . . it may feel as though there is complete silence unless they say something! Though I do try to talk every so often!

When it comes to our Lord though, He knows we need His guidance, and for that we need to hear His Voice. We can’t properly be His Sheep and Him the Good Shepherd, if He hardly speaks to us. As He says in John 10:4, regarding us the sheep, “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” Our Lord does not ask us to have “blind” faith, or to follow someone we neither see nor hear nor know beyond His name. He reassures us of His Word, by speaking and revealing to our Hearts, His Word. He has us go where He wants us to go, by reassuring and guiding us by speaking to our hearts, and our spirit! Our Lord speaks to us.

On a note, if you are not sure whether something you hear is coming from your flesh, your mind, your heart, or your spirit, you can actually get a sense of “where” your spirit is, and know if that’s where it’s coming from, by doing this thing: when you first wake up, immediately when you wake up and before you even get out of bed, start singing a Praise Song to the Lord. Start singing from within and even with your mouth perhaps, and start thanking Him as well. Soon you may feel or hear or sense a song of Praise coming from your spirit. If feels as though it is from the innermost, or the middle, of your body, and it might make you feel like taking a deep breath and just keep praising and thanking God all the more. Oh it is a glorious thing when our spirit praises God, and is in line with His Spirit, to hear His Voice and Follow Him!

When we come before the throne of our Lord, it isn’t that we should never talk, because He does want to hear from us, and He does love it when we talk to Him. Yet we have to remember to keep our ears open, and be very ready to HEAR, and have our words be few. We should speak and ask and pray and thank Him, but after that don’t leave His Throne of Grace, but stay there and listen quietly for His Voice, His Answer, and His Guidance. Even if we think we at the end of it all have not heard a single thing from Him, if we have truly listened quietly, and without our thoughts rushing and making too much noise (rebuke those busy and distracting thoughts, and ask our Lord to help keep those thoughts at bay, because the time is not for your thoughts, but for Him Alone), then even though we may not realize it, He has spoken to us perhaps, and ultimately we are indeed given a peace in the middle of hectic days and times.

In the Presence of a Holy God, kneeling before His Throne, basking in His Glory, blessed to be able to talk with Him, we can only speak but a few words, and then in awe remain quiet as we just enjoy being in His Presence. The blessing of being able to talk with our Lord is so great, and even greater is being able to hear from our Lord. Even the Lost in the world have their words heard by God. Yet few actually hear GOD’S Words. That is a very, very dear blessing that has been given to the Children of God, the sheep of His Pasture, who follow Him because they know His Voice!

I love you so much. I continue to keep you in my prayers each and every single day, and I ask that you please remember our brothers and sisters in your own prayers, each day. May we also, in our Prayers, be always ready to HEAR from God and not just do all the speaking. May we out of our prayers, and throughout the entire day, have our ears keen, and listening carefully for His Voice spoken to us! Have a great day today, and may God continue to bless you as I know He does!

Love in Christ, Always,
Your friend forever,
And brother,
Chris/Michael

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Psalm 57:5 “Be thou exalted, O God, above the heaven; let thy glory be above all the earth.”

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