Sermon Summary

16th May Speaker: Keith Harrington

Prayer 3: Hearing God in Prayer

Think back to when you were taught to cross the road. Stop, look listen.
Why do you need to stop. Why can’t you just look and listen? When we hurry, busy, easy to miss things with tragic
consequences.
Why do we need to look. Why can’t we just listen. Stop and listen?
Looking helps us listen. What might be coming might not make a noise. If there is a strong wind blowing then we don’t’
hear. All three actions are important

Hearing God. Prayer is about communication with God. Part of communicating is hearing from God. My sheep hear my
voice. How do we hear the voice of God.
Hearing his voice is part of the listening. Hearing is becoming aware of the activity and presence of God. Not just Hearing
a voice.

Suggest that the activity, presence, voice of God is like a ten lane highway. If we want to become aware of the highway, if
we want to join in the highway we need to stop, look and listen.
Often we are crossing the highway God happening all around us, not even aware of it. Not going with the flow. Going
right angles.
Or we are outside it completely. Standing on the side of the highway.
Sometimes we can be going the wrong way up the highway. Against the flow of God
Bible says. God is with us always. Holy Spirit lives in us. God speaks to us
God is at work in this world. Ten lane highway
This is the activity and presence of God. Happening all time. But are we aware of it. Do we see what God is doing. Can
we hear his voice?

Lesson we learnt as a child is very relevant. If we want to become aware of this highway presence, voice. Stop, look and
listen. Each is important.
Can’t hear, discern unless you stop.
Highway of God activity, his presence is not the only activity around us. Like crossing the road, there are lots of distractions.
Kids playing with balls, construction sites, explosions, animals, music So absorbed in these activities, like kid chases the ball
on to the road. Distracted.
We live in a world busy, multiple distractions. Multiple voices. Our work, worries, our relationships, our hobbies, all
distract us from the voice, activity, presence of God. Not that he is not there. Or not speaking Or not at work. He is. But
we can’t see it. Maybe we don’t want to know what God is up to. His agenda clashes with ours. We are scared of the
presence of God. His voice. What might he say to us. But if we are ever to hear the voice of God. Aware of what he is
doing, we have to STOP. Stop certain activities. Point of the Sabbath. Stop work. Minimal work that day. Pause from
the typical rhythms of the day. Why Look and Listen. Become aware of God, who he was, Sovereign King who you are.
Child of his. His Work, our dependence on Him, His glory. Life is frail. God eternal. Point is on Sabbath you stopped
your normal activities. Every 7 days stopped.

Look. Looking is not doing nothing. Might appear to be. Looking is active.
Don’t become Aware of presence and activity of God by just doing nothing.
Looking helps us hear. . Possible to listen without looking. Some things on the highway don’t make a lot of noise What
does it mean to LOOK What activities help us hear, discern activity Different for all of us.

Being in creation places of beauty. In Taupo this is easy

Music speaks to the soul opens our hearts
Word of God Impossible to hear from God without reading Word.
Meditation be still, chew over a Scripture, truth, something of God’s character
Journaling/reflection what is happening in my life.
What circumstances are happening
What is happening with my body headaches recently
my emotions, sad, angry etc interactions with others.
Worship praise, glory to God. Actively focusing on God
Christian Books
Walking
Fellowshipping- real fellowship, Sharing life with each other, , sermons.
These are some of the activities of looking. It is possible to look and not listen. Look at you but not listen to what you are
saying. I.e. you can do all these activities but not be listening

Third thing have to do Listen. Attentive. Openness , humility

You can come to church and not be expecting God to speak to you. Chances are wont’ hear. You can go for a walk by the
lake, but not be actively listening.
You can write in journal i.e. that you have headache. But not listening. What is God through body saying about your
lifestyle. Maybe that need to slow down. Go to bed earlier.
What might God be saying to me through my circumstances. Is God trying to say something to me this point.
What might God be saying to be through my emotions. Is my anger a sign of my self- centeredness. Not getting my own
way Repressed unforgiveness that is surfacing.
Or is it telling me a boundary has been broken. Need to ensure it is put up again.
What is God trying to say to me through Bible reading today. This transforms reading the Word of God from being a dry
exercise to one of expectation.

Can listen and yet not hear. Doing these activities but sin blocking our ears. Unconfessed sin hinders our listening.

Often we trying to cross the highway of God. Not opposing him. Just at cross purposes. God wants us to join in. Go with
the flow of what he is doing. Stop. Look Listen. Listening will result in action.

We have to change our lifestyle if we are to hear, be aware of the presence and activity of God. We cannot add it in.
One more thing to do in my day. . Fundamentally change how we live and go about life. This is where we get resistant.
We want to hear from God but we don’t want to change anything. If we don’t act, then God will stop speaking.

This is what it means when Jesus talks about surrender. We want to add God into our lives. You can’t add a highway into
your life. Far too big and powerful Join it. Go with the flow of it. Or continually be going to be trying to dodge around it.
Cross it to some destination we think is better on the other side. Or Step out of it. Not be part of it at all.

Discerning hearing is not easy. Easy to get it wrong. More likely to get it wrong if we just rely on a single source esp.
Prophecy, Circumstances. Need to look at our life holistically. If we get a puncture in the morning we could say God is
punishing me for not reading Bible this morning because I slept in, because we watched TV late night before. More likely
this is not God but our own voice of law. This voice is almost certainly come from a parental figure that we have
internalized. This voice says if you don’t get right you are not good enough for me and so will be punished. But if we are
Reading the Word, know doesn’t fit character of God. God is not some angry father figure who punishes us whenever we
get it wrong.
Maybe though as reflect on it, see over the last few weeks lot of small trying circumstances. As we bring our frustration to
God about this we sense God reminding us of our prayer a few weeks ago that we wanted to grow more patent and that he
has Allowed these things to help us grow in patience. We have Stopped Reflected. Listen. And become Aware of activity
of God in the ordinary. All of life then become sacred, holy. Aware of God at work big and the small.

Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands,
listen to his voice and cling to him. Deuteronomy 13:4 NLT

Group Discussion Questions

Do you find it hard to slow down , to be able to listen to God?

What activities help you hear? What have you tried?

Do you practice a Sabbath regularly? If not what gets in the way of doing so?

How can we be actively “listening” while say out walking?

Given that we are all sinners, how can we stop sin from hindering our ability to hear?

What practice could you begin that would help you discern the activity of God more

How conscious of God being with you, and the Holy Spirit living in you as you go about your normal day?
Brain storm on ways to Stop, look and listen during the course of the day?