Listen to God
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
10 Timothy, you know what I teach and how I live. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You have seen how patient and loving I am, and how in the past I put up with 11 trouble and suffering in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. Yet the Lord rescued me from all those terrible troubles. 12 In fact, anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others. 13 But evil people who pretend to be what they are not will become worse than ever, as they fool others and are fooled themselves. 14 Keep on being faithful to what you were taught and to what you believed. After all, you know who taught you these things. 15 Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 16 Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 17 The Scriptures train God's servants to do all kinds of good deeds.
2 Timothy 3:10-17
Memory Verse
2 Timothy 3:16
16 Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live.
God talks to you. Maybe you’ve had a conversation with God when you pray. Maybe you’ve heard him in your friend’s advice or when your mom tells you one of her stories. Have you ever heard God speak to you when you read the Bible? How do you listen to God?
First, be quiet and pause when you pray. It’s hard to hear someone if you don’t stop to listen. Find a place in your house where it is quiet, close your eyes, and listen to what quiet sounds like for 30 seconds. As you get more comfortable with quiet, start adding a pause to the end of your prayers. Maybe also pause a little bit before you pray to remind yourself that you’re talking with God.
Second, read the Bible. Today’s verse (2 Timothy 3:16) reminds us that the Bible is God’s words. When you are reading your Bible, you are hearing God speak to you! How amazing is that? The God who spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1). The God who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3). The God who called Lazarus out of the grave (John 11). You are holding his words in your hands! The more you read the Bible, the more you know how God speaks. Then, you know how to recognize his voice!
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for giving us the Bible so we can hear you speak to us. Thank you for our conversation now. Help me to hear your voice. Amen.Related Resources
Philip Vander Windt
Philip VanderWindt is the pastor at Champlain Valley Christian Reformed Church. In his free time he enjoys building “tall-tall towers” with his kids, analyzing worldviews of films and music with his wife, photographing the beauty of God’s creation, dabbling in leathercraft and woodwork, and writing.