Hindrances to Hearing

1 SAMUEL 3:1-10

How sharp is your spiritual hearing? Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How well do I know God? Lack of understanding about God's character and what pleases Him hinders listening.

2. Do I believe that God wants to speak to me? A poor self-image is one reason we have dull hearing. The truth is that He values all His children.

3. Do I live with a sense of guilt? When we believe Satan's lies about not measuring up to God's standard, we experience false guilt, and our listening skills diminish.

4. Have I been too busy to take time for God? The Lord expects us to listen to Him and respond, even in our busyness.

5. Do I believe God speaks through His Holy Spirit? When we have unbelief about God speaking to us personally, we will not hear His voice.

6. Am I angry with God? Over time, God-directed anger can close our heart to His words.

7. Am I committing repeated sin in my life? Unless we repent of known transgression, we are harboring sin, which operates like static in our ears and makes hearing the Lord difficult.

8. Have I decided on how I want God to answer? If our spirit is rebellious, we close our ears to any solution but our own.

9. How well do I receive criticism and correction? Our tendency is to reject the messenger without determining if he or she was sent by God.

Scripture exhorts us to consider carefully how we listen. (Luke 8:18a) Right now would be a good time to obey.