Focus

Relax and listen. Consciously prepare to hear God’s Word. Clear your mind of the worries and tasks that lie before you. Open your heart and allow it to refresh.

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Read

Mark 3:7-12 (NRSV)

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

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Reflect

This great multitude followed Jesus because they were “hearing all that he was doing.” I think listening and hearing have become extremely difficult in our world today. I went to the store recently and when I returned home, my wife gave me “that look,” which let me know I had messed up somehow. Evidently, before I left to go to the store, she had told me to pick up a 12-pack of her favorite sodas. My response was that the conversation had never happened. She said, “I asked you to get some drinks for me and you picked up your phone to text someone.”

We all know the importance of praying, but it is just as important to take time to listen to God. If we pray for God to lead us and give us direction, then we pick up the remote to watch television, how can we ever expect to hear clarity from God? So, in this world of loud noise and chaos, take time to listen; quiet yourself, and simply listen. You might be surprised at what you hear. Say this small prayer, then take a few minutes to hear.

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Pray

God, open my ears that I may hear you this day. Allow me time simply to sit and be silent. Amen.

Go with God.