When God Does Not Listen
(S) Scripture
Zechariah 7:13
'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty.
(O) Observation
What a disturbing statement from God. When I do not listen to Him, He does not listen to me.
(A) Application
I wonder how often I ignore God and then expect that He has to listen to me. The Lord is not some heavenly bellhop or celestial room service provider. He is God Almighty who does as He pleases whenever He pleases. How foolish of me to think that I can ignore and turn a deaf ear to Him and then expect Him to listen to me. I know He always hears the repentant and contrite but too often I come to Him in my pride and with an arrogant spirit. Today I will get my spirit right and listen intently to the Lord and then do what He says.
(P) Prayer
O Father, I have ignored you way too often. Forgive me and hear my prayer. Let me hear you clearly today. I want to do what you want more than anything else. Help me to get out of the way, listen to you and obey. I love you and want to be heard and used by you. Amen
3 comments:
Do you really think that God doesn't listen just because we don't listen to him at times? Doesn't this make God sound like a spoiled child who says, "If you don't listen to me, I won't listen to you." Or is God saying, "I won't respond to you because you aren't responding to me." What exactly does the term "listen" mean here? A curious Charlottian
Strong"s gives this explanation of the word "listen" - I would not compare God to a spoiled child but the prophet did say what I commented on. I think you have only paraphrased what the prophet said.
Hope this is helpful:
Transliterated Word: shama (1033b)
Root: a prim. root;
Definition: to hear:--
— NASB Greek-Hebrew Dictionary
a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causative to tell, etc.) :- × attentively, call (gather) together, × carefully, × certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, × diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear (-ken, tell), × indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim (-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, × surely, tell, understand, whosoever [heareth], witness.
— Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
So, in other words, he "hears" but chooses not to react or respond. He can't help but "help" the audible sounds that emerge from our mouths....He's God! But in "hearing" he doesn't act on our requests, urgings, etc. etc. This then is not the image of a spoiled child who sticks his fingers in his ears while someone is talking and whines, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening...." But rather it's the image of a rational God who "hears" the audible sounds of our voices and simply responds, "I hear you but for now, I will be silent, until you recognize the importance or responding to my call." Makes sense now. Thanks Pastor!
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