Week 6: Listening through the five senses
Watch and Listen
Week 6, Day 2
What do you see when you intently listen to someone? You may be looking them in the eye, but you are also taking in social cues from their body language. When I listen to God through Scripture, I read the words on the page and my eyes process the message I have been called to hear. And when I see something that captures my attention, I am drawn to it, as an invitation to listen.
Moses was called to listen by first seeing what God had put before him.
Exodus 3:1-6 (NIV)
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
What do you notice as the sequence and relationship between seeing and listening in this story?
We can also describe it as the difference between active and passive listening. When we are actively striving to listen, we will be paying full attention to what God is saying. We will approach Him to listen and respond, sometimes based on what we have seen. Are you watching to listen?
How has God spoken to you through what you have seen? Or how you have observed God working in your life or in the lives of others?
What did God say when you watched and listened?
The more we watch, and the more we listen, the more ready we are to hear Him clearly the next time! I’m honored to watch and listen together with you through these listening exercises.
Additional notes, thoughts, or drawings from listening by watching:
We would love to hear from you! Please share with us what you are hearing and how you are growing in your devotion to listening.
This blog post is taken from the book Called to Listen: Forty Days of Devotion. To order a copy of this book, please visit our website and invite a friend to participate in the study with you. The book includes additional guides and questions to be reviewed in a small group context weekly.