Read John 14

Verse 15:

“If you love me, you will obey my commandments.”

Why do I not listen to God? Is it because I cannot hear him in my noisy world?

I listen to people I know. I listen to their personal testimonies and take them at their word. The truth is I don’t consciously and deliberately put up my hand to God to say, “stop!”

Do I love the company of misery more?

Truth is difficult to hear through ignorant ears. Love is difficult to feel when the heart is surrounded in the barbed wire of despair. Obedient advice becomes optional not imperative when I listen to someone other than God allowing the world to consume my attention and my actions.

Why am I so insensitive and obstinate to know the one who treats me as His child?

God will never tell me, “I told you so” because He loved me first. Once I realize I have constantly shown Him disrespect, I feel the shame and humiliation of my ignorance and take responsibility for my despair by actively searching for His voice.

Dear Lord, I praise Your wisdom and I ask for Your forgiveness to being easily led by foolish and self-centered pursuits. Help me to open my ears and unburden my heart to You so I may fully hear Your voice instead of the world’s. Guide me with Your peace so I may no longer be troubled or cowardly. Thank you for the Spirit of Your Truth. I love you! I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Examining our circumstances in a prayer journal will help us to gain perspective by opening our hearts and ears to hear God’s will in our life. Sometimes the words flow like a rushing river and other times they are like a drip from a leaky faucet. At one point in my prayer journal, I was only able to draw a small box in the middle of the page. In time God showed me the box was a metaphor for my authentic voice. The power of a prayer journal is the ability to trace the footsteps of our walk with God.