Is it just me or do you also cry out to the LORD in prayer & hope that HE not only hears our prayers but listens to us?
"Hear
my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy." ― PSALM 86:6
"The
word listen contains the same letters as the word silent." ― Alfred
Brendel
Listening
is not only verbal but also about body language, facial expressions, & the
look within the eyes of the person we are listening to.
"When
a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes." ―
Victor Hugo
"When
people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." ― Ernest
Hemingway
"For
these are rebellious people, deceitful children, unwilling to listen
to the LORDs instruction." ― ISAIAH 30:9
"But
if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,”
declares the LORD." ― JEREMIAH 12:17
"But
you did not listen to me," declares the LORD, "and you have
aroused MY anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought
harm to yourselves." ― JEREMIAH 25:7
"To
whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are
closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to
them; they find no pleasure in it." ― JEREMIAH 6:10
"If
someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of
encouragement, or attempts to understand a lonely person, extraordinary things
begin to happen." ― Loretta Girzaitis
Listening
to the LORD means that we live in a manner that is pleasing to HIM by obeying
that which the BIBLE teaches us!
"You
have declared this day that the LORD is your GOD and that you will
walk in obedience to HIM, that you will keep HIS decrees, commands and laws — that
you will listen to HIM." ― DEUTERONOMY 26:17
If
we are listening to the LORD we gladly submit to HIS instruction for our lives!
"The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. HE wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed." ― ISAIAH 50:4
"The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. HE wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed." ― ISAIAH 50:4
"I
cried out to HIM with my mouth; HIS praise was on my tongue. If I had
cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened; but GOD has
surely listened and has heard my prayer." ― PSALM 66:17-19
"An
average human looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without
feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales
without awareness of odor or fragrance, & talks without thinking." ―
Leonardo da Vinci
If
you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor MY name,” says
the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse
your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not
resolved to honor ME." ― MALACHI 2:2
It
is absolutely amazing that through our listening, we may communicate with the
GOD of all creation!
"Communicating
with GOD is the most extraordinary experience imaginable, yet at the same time
it's the most natural one of all, because GOD is present in us at all times.
Omniscient, omnipotent, personal & loving us without conditions. We are
connected as one through our divine link with GOD." ― Eben Alexander
"People
love to talk but hate to listen. Listening is not merely not talking, though
even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human
interest in what is being told us. You can listen like a blank wall or like a
splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller & richer." ―
Alice Duer Miller
"Perhaps,
after all, our best thoughts come when we are alone. It is good to listen, not
to voices but to the wind blowing, to the brook running cool over polished
stones, to bees drowsy with the weight of pollen. If we attend to the music of
the earth, we reach serenity. And then, in some unexplained way, we share it
with others." ― Gladys Bagg Taber
When
you are conversing with someone, are you really listening or are you figuring
out what you will say next?
"The
most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people
don't talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk & listen. They go to the
theater, the cinema, watch television, listen to the radio, read books, but
they almost never talk. If we want to change the world, we have to go back to a
time when warriors would gather around a fire & tell stories." ― Paulo
Coelho
"Are You Listening?" was made shortly after the earthquakes in Haiti a few
years ago & it is an amazing song that rings true not just to the Haitians or
others in moments of devastation & tragedy but to me, because I am
listening, I hear people who are forgotten or overlooked on a daily basis &
long for you or for me or for anyone to listen to them!
The
USA & the world in general always seem to be there when tragedy strikes
& we are horrified at the suffering that people are going through.
What about the children & youth in our own country that suffer every day?
What about the thousands of young people who become homeless each year?
What about children who have no family to be with them when they are hurting?
What about the children & youth in our own country that suffer every day?
What about the thousands of young people who become homeless each year?
What about children who have no family to be with them when they are hurting?
What will I do?
What
will you do?
What
am I doing?
If children have never experienced unconditional love, why is the world surprised at the significantly higher percentages of being homeless, not finishing school, or using drugs?
"We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present." ― Marianne Williamson
If only all children & youth were loved, their futures would not be so negatively impacted by that which they had no control of to begin with.
How my heart & spirit ache of the callousness within me.
May that callousness be surgically removed by the HOLY SPIRIT & replaced with HIS supernatural love so that I may be able to do that which the LORD created me to do!
"Everything we do is infused with the energy with which we do it. If we're frantic, life will be frantic. If we're peaceful, life will be peaceful. And so our goal in any situation becomes inner peace." ― Marianne Williamson
"Listening!" by Christafari conveys not only the vibe of Key West, Florida being my new home but also expresses that truly listening to GOD will answer the question of "Is My Life Meaningful?"
"The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." ― Benjamin Disraeli
"In The Midst Of A Miami Storm!" is what I did 2 decades ago to listen to GOD during some intense challenges in my life & while I was writing & trying to be creative in helping a precious friend of mine these past few months, the LORD began speaking to me & the HOLY SPIRIT reignited a passion within me to do something that will help children & youth to profoundly experience a "HOME!" that is a blessing to them instead of the last place on earth they want to be.
Why?
"If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be & could be, he will become what he ought to be & could be." ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Pressure Destroys Or Creates Precious Diamonds!" & all children deserve to live in an environment in which they feel safe & are encouraged to be who they were created to be.
Conversations almost seem to be a thing of the past with the hectic schedules that are commonplace in the United States & that has resulted in a dramatic level of noise that is deafening.
Is it possible to listen if we are physically deaf?
What about being spiritually deaf?
If you have 15 minutes, "Listen" by Drake Rustand is an amazing short film about getting past the noise & being able to listen more clearly in silence!
"Listen
to all the conversations of our world, between nations as well as between
individuals. They are, for the most part, dialogues of the deaf." ― Paul
Tournier
If we desire to make a difference in this world, there are two extremely simple things that we may share which will open the ears & eyes of those who are unable to hear or see, compassion & kindness!
"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear & the blind can see." ― Mark Twain
May we all speak & listen in such a way that others love to be around us!
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