“For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’ But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:13-17).

How well do you hear? Today I’m going to reveal a family secret. The Dockery’s are known for not listening when someone is speaking to them. We have the ability to hear without listening, and this gives us the ability to know that someone is speaking without interrupting what we’re listening to. Our son, Benjamin has a T-shirt that reads, “iTune you out.”

In our defense, let me say that this “problem” has been around since God told Abraham to listen to his wife. Husbands have not listened well to  wives for generations, and wives have learned how to use this to their advantage. Yeah ladies, you know where I’m going with that. “Honey, I’m going shopping.” This is the line that is used on husbands as they are absorbed in their favorite sports or other programs on television. If they say, “yes dear” with that passive voice, then the next line is . . . well you get the point.

Did you know that you can hear the vacuum, the dishwasher, and the television, but only one of them will actually have your attention? This got me to thinking about the subject of hearing, and how it can affect our walk with God in either a positive or a negative way. There’s a huge difference between hearing and listening. God wants us to listen to His voice and pay attention to and heed His Word.

In order for us to accomplish that, we must use more than our ears; we must also listen with our hearts. The ear cannot make decisions, and the mind cannot hear sounds—it only processes what the ears hear. You know that someone’s voice isn’t reaching past your ears and entering into your heart the moment you realize that you don’t understand what they said.

This was the problem that Paul addressed in Romans 10. The Jews heard the message about the gospel, but their hearts were hardened against the Word. They didn’t mix the Word that they heard with faith so the “Good News” didn’t profit them. When Jesus spoke to the Jews, He used a form of communication called, “parables.” One day His disciples asked Him one why He spoke to the crowds with parables, yet spoke plainly to them. Jesus told them that it was because of the hardness of people’s hearts. They could hear what He was teaching them, but they couldn’t perceive or understand with their mind, because their hearts were full of unbelief.

In Matthew 15, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that they worshipped God with their lips, but that their hearts were far from Him and their worship was in vain. God doesn’t communicate with us through our ears, but He relates to us through our hearts. If our heart isn’t pure, then it will affect how we hear God’s Word. If you struggle to understand God’s Word when you read it, then ask God to touch your heart. If you vacillate on whether or not to follow His instructions when you hear the Holy Spirit speak to you, then ask the Lord to touch your heart.

And husbands, if you always tune your wife out, then she will begin to believe that you have no time for her. She will tend to believe that you love other things more than her. Guess what? This is the way God views our relationship with Him when we listen to the world, but ignore Him. Jesus told us in John 15, “If you love Me, then keep My commandments.” In other words, Listen to what I say and prove that you heard it by doing what I requested.  —submitted by Asa Dockery, US