Devotion for Wednesday, May 13
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE CONVERSATION

Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27
 
As I was growing up and well into my twenties, I was surrounded by people who seemed to hear from God on a remarkably frequent level. Almost every week, people reported that God was showing up and giving them specific directions. But those kinds of experiences never seemed to happen to me. I worried that somehow I was missing God - that everyone else had a better listening ear than I did. Maybe I was always going to have to hear from God secondhand.
 
What about you? What do you rely on when you want to hear from God on a specific issue or when you want direction? Do you sit and wait, hoping you'll find direction in a book or through someone else? Or maybe you do what I have heard others say they do - take the Bible in your hand and open it randomly and point to a verse and voila! - you have your answer! I've tried it and believe me - It doesn't work!
 
Maybe, instead, we should take time to pray and meditate on God's Word. Yes, I'm saying that prayer is sometimes just the beginning of the conversation. Sometimes we need more. It takes an intentional choice to carve out time in our overfull schedules to listen to the voice of God. Before this pandemic, we lived such busy lives that we forgot how, or perhaps we had never learned to listen for God in that way. But Jesus assured us that when we look past all the books and speakers and seek to commune with him, we will know his voice.
 
Brothers and Sisters, now we don't have any excuse for not spending time with God. We are stuck at home and saying how bored we are. Let's not waste this wonderful opportunity to spend more time in prayer and Bible reading. We can learn how to hear from God if we just put forth the effort.
 
Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not talking about hearing a loud booming voice coming from on high, giving us the answer to all of our questions. I'm talking about the "still small voice" - the voice that speaks to our heart, giving us guidance. This is the Holy Spirit and He is always there - wanting to have a conversation with us. All we have to do is begin the conversation.
 
Let us pray: Gracious God, we thank you for Your Holy Spirit who is always ready to speak to us. Help us to learn to listen. Amen.
                                                                                                                                                                            
Pastor Ruth
 
820 Almshouse Road  Ivyland, PA 18974
215 357-6998   stjumc@aol.com