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Writer's pictureDericka Canada Cunningham

Are You a Good Listener?

Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder

July 26, 2021



This Week's Anchor


“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard,

so that we do not drift away.”

Hebrews 2: 1 (NIV)


 

I grew up in the Black Baptist South where the use of expressive illustrations to convey sermon messages was common. The pastor who led the church that I grew up in, Dr. C.B. Akins, Sr. (First Baptist Church Bracktown, Lexington, KY), had a reoccurring illustrative theme where he would share stories of how God spoke to him through inanimate objects to deliver powerful Words. It became an anticipated and ongoing moment of humor in many of his sermons to share these memos delivered from unsuspected objects, such as refrigerators and toasters. As a young girl, I never quite understood why my pastor had such vibrant relationships with random gadgets in his home; however, as an older and wiser woman, I now have a new understanding of the underlying point of Rev. Akins’ sermons: God can speak through anything and anyone at any time if we are simply willing to listen.


Hebrews chapter two gives us a warning to pay attention to the messages that God gives us. This verse begins by urging us to be carefully attuned to what we hear from God. To be careful means to be intentional, deliberate, and thorough. If only being thoughtful in this way were as easy as it sounds—especially given the long list of things (and people) that take up mental space and at times get in the way of us being present with God’s voice. Our lives are often such a whirlwind of busyness that we don’t give ourselves the slow-down to hear from God. Yet, if we take even just a few moments out of our week to be mindful, not only do we open our space to hear profound messages from God, but we protect ourselves from the potential of drifting away.


Maybe your area of difficulty isn’t with slowing down and finding time for God, but instead with hearing from Him. Many of us struggle with listening to others and ourselves, let alone to God. There are several reasons why listening is hard. To name a few, first, listening in this case requires a stillness that can be emotionally overwhelming. For this reason, being booked and busy can sometimes serve as a means to avoid this exposing level of quiet. I won’t lie to you and suggest that hearing from God won’t be uncomfortably revealing at times, but some of the most reassuring messages come when we endure the discomfort with God and allow Him to speak. In addition to this, it can be difficult to discern God’s voice. If you are anything like me, you might oftentimes ask yourself: “Is that God speaking or me speaking?” or “Are these God’s thoughts or my thoughts?” The great thing about God is that He doesn’t just speak once. If He has a message for you, He will deliver it many times and in different ways until you receive it and feel affirmed in knowing that it is Him. Lastly, God has a habit of using unsuspecting messengers and we, unfortunately, often have a habit of judging unsuspecting messengers. I am a living testament to the creativity in which God speaks. God has moved me through songs, movies, shows, random strangers, children, students, a missing wedding ring; during travel, while in nature…the list goes on! The wider we expand the possibilities to the diverse delivery of God’s messages, the greater our opportunity to hear from Him.


Hearing from God is our way of connecting and reconnecting with being grounded. So, here are a few ways that we can strengthen our listening skills:

  • Be Mindful—Create consistent practices that aid you in being attuned and present (e.g., prayer, meditation, yoga, deep breathing, intentional pauses and breaks). Visit our Grounded Black Women Mindfulness resource page for more ideas.

  • Be Ready—My mama always said, “if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready”, and it couldn’t be truer in life in general, but especially when it comes to hearing from God. Anticipate hearing from God. Be vigilant and on the lookout for how God might speak. Let your experiences with the things, people, and places that you encounter marinate, and ask God to reveal the meaning of these experiences and interactions.

  • Seek Hearing from God—We don’t have to wait for God to speak randomly. We can look for opportunities to hear from God, and like this week’s song of inspiration, invite Him and the Holy Spirit to speak to us. I used to state the simple prayer “speak to me, Lord”. But a few years ago, I realized this prayer was missing a very important second part, so I now pray “speak to me, Lord, and help me to listen and follow”. Wherever you are in this moment or before you begin your workday or enter a workspace, appointment, and/or meeting, pray this prayer—ask God and the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Make it a habit to invite this more consistently throughout your week.


So, I challenge us all today to open our minds, hearts, eyes, and/or ears to invite God to speak to us in whatever way that He chooses to get our attention. May we be blessed this week to hear from God in unexpected places and spaces!


 

Reflection

  • What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?

  • How would you rate your listening-to-God skills? What challenges do you have when it comes to hearing from God? What do you need from God to help you hear Him more clearly?

  • What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with being grounded this week?


Related Scriptures to Ground You Through this Week

  • Hebrews 2: 1-4

  • Hebrews 3: 15

  • Romans 10: 17

  • John 10: 27

  • John 8:47

  • Isaiah 30:21

  • James 1:19


My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide



 

A Song of Inspiration





 

Quote of Love & Liberation



“The magic is to surrender to God’s dream for you. Quit fighting and pushing against and disallowing against, and stop trying to tell the Creator what you’re supposed to do.

Get still and know that His dream is for you.”









1 Comment


sunshinetc81
sunshinetc81
Jul 26, 2021

Amen! Thank You for this beautiful GBW devotion for this week.

Yes always stay ready…because God can and will speak to anything and anyone at anytime When He has something just for us to do or hear. Keep Shining 💞

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