What do we choose to listen to? We always focus on people saying and doing the right things, but what about listening to the right things?

The ears test words just as the mouth tastes food. (Job 43:3) We digest the words around us, and we either waste it or remember it. Ears are important. In the Old Testament, they would put blood on the ear lobes of some of the men so that they would be consecrated. They were blessing the sounds around them so that their thought could be cleansed.

Nehemiah on a few different occasions requested that The Lord open up His ears, so that He may hear his prayer. He was so nervous about his job, but he wasn’t even trusting that God was listening. Those who doubt hearing from God are often the ones who need to hear the most. Do we close our ears? Do we listen to the bad and ignore the good? Sometimes we have to be attentive because we will be spoken to in just a small whisper. Job was awoken by a simple whisper going past his head. It told him everything he needed to know about his trials. Are you listening to every pin drop or shout?

Lord, lay the blood over my ears and cleanse me. Help me to listen to whatever is true, holy, and righteous. I’m just a person made from Your hands and encased in my own sin. I will never compare to you. You feed the earth, and you abandon angels of error. Thank you for having grace on me when I know that I deserve the exact same fate. Help me to lean into the whispers that you give to me so that I may hear all that needs to be said. Consecrate me.
Amen.