Professional Listeners

In his Saturday afternoon workshop on spiritual warfare, speaker Dave Butts shared what is, in his opinion, the greatest deception in the church: hearing instead of doing the Word of God.

When we sit under an inspiring speaker, Dave said, we want to hear them again. When we read a powerful book, we want to go out and buy more that the author has written. Too often, that’s as far as it goes. Instead of being moved to action, we want to hear more. As a result, we become Professional Listeners.

“To suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear,” writes Paul in 2 Tim. 4:3. Yes, he’s speaking of those who enjoy a watered-down version of the truth, one that sounds soothing and requires no response. But am I much better when I thrill to a challenging Sunday morning sermon or a stimulating Community Life discussion... and walk out having already filed it away as a great experience, looking forward to the next time that my itching ears will be scratched once again?

James 1:22-25 challenges me:

“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does” (NIV).

We need to spend time with truth we’ve heard. To begin a habit of studying Sunday morning’s sermon notes (perhaps on a quiet Sunday afternoon) and Bible study insights, asking the Spirit to show us practical steps to applying it to our lives.

For instance, we were challenged Sunday morning to boldness in prayer. To paying attention to Who we’re talking to when we pray, and to our surroundings in the throneroom of heaven. We were encouraged to pray the Word, using the avenue of prayer to discover and request what God wants, not what we selfishly desire. We were challenged to pray big prayers, prayers that will impact eternity, instead of little ones that have to do only with our protection, our health, our earthly life.

I was offered a glimpse of myself during that sermon... and I don’t want to forget what I saw in that mirror. Rather than looking forward to the next great spiritual truth that comes my way, I need to spend some time with what I heard. I need to let God make some permanent changes in the way I pray, and in why I pray. I need to follow the example of the crowd who listened to the Apostle Peter’s powerful post-Pentecost message: “They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?” ((Acts 2:37 NIV).

We’ve been given some powerful truth regarding boldness in prayer.

What shall we do?