Bible Reading: Proverbs 19:20
Proverbs 19:20 gives us this advice: “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”
Listening is probably one of the hardest things for most people to do. We recognize that someone is speaking. We know they are saying words. We hear the sounds, but we don’t really let the message behind those sounds register in our brains. Like the old cliché says, the message “goes in one ear and out the other”.
If we genuinely want to grow in our life with Christ, we need to become better listeners. We need to go beyond hearing the sounds our parents, teachers, pastors, and God make into our ears and let the message behind those sounds sink deeply into our minds. We need to soak up their wise advice and absorb their instruction. Then we will grow to be wise and capable of making discerning, godly decisions.
“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to “listen to advice and accept instruction.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.