My son, be attentive to my words; incline
your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within
your heart. (Pro 4:20-21)
“If anyone has ears to hear,
let him hear." (Mar 4:23)
So many American believers have seen or heard of the powerful move of the Holy Spirit in nations around the world but are unable to explain our own lack of faith that prevents such a large scale move of God in the United States. What is the missing element?
In the early Church, as in so many third world
nations today, there were and are such limited copies of the Scriptures that a person’s only
exposure to the Scriptures is to go and hear them read, taught or preached. In our modern age, the scriptures are more easily obtainable, and so many believers count "doing devotions" with a silent reading of the scripture as a spiritual activity.
The difference is so subtle, but only one activity CREATES FAITH, and that is HEARING. The person who reads silently is gaining knowledge which is good, but by itself can generate pride (knowledge "puffs up," 1 Corinthians 8:1).
The American church’s primary claim to fame is EDUCATION. We
READ about it and we KNOW about it. But how does one build FAITH? “So
then faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”(Romans 10:17)
Investigating the original language makes it clearer. The
word HEAR in Greek can also be translated “understand.” Also, the word for “word” here is rhema which
means “utterance."
So, FAITH is a natural result of COMMUNING with and experiencing
the VOICE of God Himself. And that comes from HEARING and HEARING the
Scriptures read OUT LOUD.
The command to be attentive from Proverbs 4 (above) includes both “looking
at” and “listening to.”
Nothing is like owning your own Bible. Many have
laid down their lives to make this a reality. And God wants us to EDUCATE ourselves
and others. But KNOWLEDGE is no substitute for FAITH.
The quickest way to build FAITH is to combine “looking at”
and “listening to” by reading the word to yourself out loud. The speech center
of the brain is the most dominant (see James 1:26).
A person who desires to offer himself completely to God as a
“living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) will practice MEDITATING the Word. By doing
this, you may not be able to read through the Bible in a year, but you will
build understanding and attentiveness to the voice of God. And by building your
capacity to HEAR God’s voice, you are on your way to becoming a Faith giant.
