Jeremiah 37
Prioritize Time to Listen!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 3.
The key to good communication is the ability to listen. If you are always talking and never listening, then you will never know another person. We must listen to the one we seek to understand, which is why God gave us two ears and one mouth. As James 1:19 teaches, “But everyone must be quick to hear.” In our spiritual disciplines, we must listen to God’s Word because He desires for us to know Him. That happens primarily through Bible intake through a daily reading or listening plan, but it also comes through the life of following Jesus, called Christian discipleship. If you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus, you must prioritize listening to Him!
Often people treat God like a cosmic vending machine. They really don’t want to get to know Him; they just want something from Him. Such people are always asking, but never listening. Their religion is yet another way to cope with or control their world. We see an example of this in Jeremiah 37:1-3:
Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.”
Zedekiah was willing to ask the prophet to pray on their behalf, but he was not willing to listen to God’s Word. There was no relationship, only his ambition to use God, and no one likes to be used!
Seize the moment and prioritize listening to God today! Mark your calendar with the times of your daily transformative practices of Christian discipleship.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
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