A few days ago when Facebook greeted me with the question, “What’s on your mind?” my heart responded, “Hearing is on my mind – physical hearing and spiritual hearing.”

As we grow older it seems wise to have our physical hearing checked to ensure we’re hearing accurately whatever is audible. Occasionally, life itself can depend on our hearing, for example to help us escape an oncoming danger that is out of sight but not out of earshot. More generally as well, the quality of our relationships with others can depend on our being able to HEAR what they are ACTUALLY saying to us. (My emphasis there is to acknowledge the occasional need to ‘read between the lines’ and read the body language of speakers, in addition to hearing their oral message).

However, for those who believe in the God of the Bible and want to hear from Him, spiritual hearing is even more important than physical hearing and even more important than ‘sensing’ the underlying vibes of what others say. You know that God still speaks to His people, right? He didn’t shut up at the end of Revelation, and He still hasn’t decided to give us the silent treatment because of the ungodliness of mankind. Yes, sin abounds, but God’s grace and His desire to speak to us abounds even more. We believers need to ensure we are hearing God accurately, for the sake of our deepening relationship with Him, to respond appropriately to what He says, and often for the benefit of others – for example, when He just says, “Get up and pray” and you haven’t even heard YET what or who to pray for, but you sense it’s not yourself.

There are two specific things about spiritual hearing that I want to share. (1) In order to ensure we are hearing God accurately, we must listen carefully and be willing to keep listening. He often says something that to us may seem incomplete, but He requires a response to what He has said before He says anything else. When we hear and do (or just hear and ‘receive’) what He has already said (such as “Get up to pray”) then He adds the next part – which may be a further instruction (such as who or what to pray for), or even just a further revelation added to what we’ve attentively received.

(2) Since our own imaginations can be so fertile and self-serving, we should seek general confirmation of what we think God has said to us, from the whole counsel of His written word – the Bible. Then, because God knows all about the lenses through which individuals can read His word, and the heart conditions that can influence their interpretations, the Bible includes His advice to also seek wise human counsel and confirmation, especially in matters of corporate effect. (For quick examples see Prov. 11:14, 15:22 and Acts 15:6.)

We can judge the Godly wisdom of human counsellors from the fruit that we see in their lives – which implies they should have been around long enough for spiritual fruit-bearing (Matt. 7:17-18). By these indications we can judge the trustworthiness of their confirmation, or the discernment behind their disagreement with our own thoughts.  Furthermore, to avert us from simply choosing a counsellor whom we feel will agree with our viewpoint, God says in Prov. 11:14b, “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (NKJV), or “With many counsellors there is deliverance” (TLV), or “In an abundance of counsellors there is victory” (NASB). That is why the apostles Sha’ul / Paul and Barnabas took the advice of other brothers in the faith (Acts 15:2) to seek counsel in Jerusalem from the whole gathering of apostles and elders (Acts 15:3 ff.).

To tie this all together, let’s consider Yeshua’s words in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me.”

Why did Yeshua call us ‘sheep’ in this verse? Why not ‘lions’ or ‘eagles’, or some more impressive animal?  I’m not sure, but David used the same choice of words when he said in Psalm 100:3, “We are His (God’s) people and the sheep of His pasture.”

One writer explains, “Sheep have excellent hearing, and they depend on it to make up for their less-than-stellar vision.” (In contrast, lions and eagles have excellent vision, to which hearing is a secondary rather than their primary reliance. Also, God does not habitually speak to us from a visible form, so hearing Him is generally more critical than trying to ‘see’ Him.)  Continuing… “Sheep have a far greater range of hearing than us humans, which is a good thing for an animal subject to predators.” (The LORD knows, we humans can be sooo subject to spiritual predators.)  Back to the sheep… “They can even turn their ears (around) individually to be able to hone in on specific sounds.”  (https://www.hobbyfarms.com/understanding-sheep-sense/) 

Turning their ears around individually to hone in on specific sounds is their way of LISTENING VERY CAREFULLY. That enables them to hear the specific voice they are listening for, which is sometimes a ‘still small voice’. See 1 Kings 19:11-13 (KJV) where Elijah had to listen past the clamor of other sounds to await God’s voice.

It was no surprise to me when I read, in the same article cited above, “Keep in mind that loud and high-pitched noises are not welcome to sheep.” I imagine their ability to turn their ears around to hone in on a certain sound would also enable them to minimize distraction from competing sounds.

Another difference between sheep and animals like lions or eagles is their social behaviour. The Merck Vet Manual says, “Sheep display an intensely gregarious social instinct that allows them to bond closely to other sheep and preferentially to related flock members. Flock mentality movements protect individuals from predators.”

Finally, to underscore my point that God does want to say things to us, and to add that it’s a privilege for us to be able to hear Him, consider these verses:

Amos 3:7: “For the LORD YHVH will do nothing, unless He has revealed His counsel to His servants the prophets.” And Yeshua said to His disciples in John 15:15: “I am no longer calling you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. Now I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

I, Marcia EVANGELINE Walters Anderson, want to be counted among Yeshua’s friends – friends who are also His servants, friends who will listen keenly for His voice, friends who – being aware of their membership in His fold – will ensure that their hearing is not ‘off’ but in agreement with what the rest of the fold is corporately hearing. May God bless my words to your heart!