I used to mumble. Like, all the time. Mumble, mumble. Well, at least when I was talking to my husband. He was constantly asking me to be careful not to mumble. It was frustrating for him not to be able to hear me clearly. It was hard for him to pay attention. Then, I would get upset when he didn't act on whatever we discussed. But it came back to me. I was mumbling. How could he know what I wanted when I needed clarification?
Then, he had his hearing checked. Amazingly enough, the day he got hearing aids was the day I stopped mumbling!
I have a friend whose daughter didn't listen to a thing her frustrated mother said. This otherwise sweet child would flatly ignore her unless she raised her voice. Then they went to the doctor, who removed giant blobs of wax from the child's ears. Peace was restored in their household as the daughter became obedient again, listening to her mother's every word.
How many times have I asked God to speak a little more clearly? Do I sometimes feel like He isn't speaking at all? It's easy to blame the speaker when we don't hear clearly, but that's not necessarily the case. Maybe I need to check my ears. Have I allowed sin to build up and block my ability hear as if it were wax in my ears? Is there too much background noise drowning out His voice?
When I looked up the words “ear” and “hear,” the concordance in the back of my Bible offered these tidbits.
“Of all the things we have heard with our ears, no one is like our God.” (2 Samuel 7:22), “God's ears are open to the cries of the righteous” (Psalm 34:15), and “I stand at the door and knock. He who hears My voice and opens the door, I will sup with him.” (Revelation 3:20) So the problem isn't on His end. He wants to communicate.
Jeremiah 9:20 instructs, “Now hear the word of the Lord, O you women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth.”
Deuteronomy 11: 26-27 promises blessing to those who listen to God's commandments (9:20). I find, “He whose ear listens will live among the wise” (Proverbs 15:31) and then, “The ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Proverbs 18:15).
Peter warns of a time when people “will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate teachers who align with their desires” (2 Timothy 4:3). Am I surrounding myself with those who are wise and will bring me back to the Word of God? I must let my “ears test words as the palate tastes food” (Job 12:11).
But Isaiah rebukes, “You have not heard and have not known… because your ear has not been opened” (48:8). Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27).
Am I trying to listen, but depending on my limited abilities?
When we pray to the One who hears our prayers (Psalm 65:2) and asks to “hear (His) lovingkindness in the morning (Psalm 143:8), God doesn't just remove wax that may build up again or give us hearing aids.
Jesus can open our ears and remove impediments to our speech! Read Mark 7:32-35
How are your ears?
In Matthew's gospel and the book of Revelation, we read, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 11:15, Revelation 2:7).
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