Proverbs 28:9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction,
    even their prayers are detestable.

This is a little detail that a lot of people overlook. We can go through all the right motions, but if our hearts aren’t turned toward God, it doesn’t mean anything. This is one of the dangers of formal prayers. Even the Lord’s Prayer doesn’t mean anything if our heart isn’t in it. If we aren’t willing to hear what God says to us, how can we expect Him to listen to us? God speaks to us constantly, in one way and another, but if we aren’t listening we lose out, in every way imaginable. I’m reminded of the sadly many stories of religious professionals who “performed the duties of their ministry,” all the while abusing people who were supposedly under their care. Genuine prayer is humble, listening more than demanding.

I’ve mentioned it many times, but the first time I heard God speak to me in what seemed like an audible voice, He told me to shut up! I was so busy expressing what I wanted Him to do that I wasn’t listening for what He wanted me to do. I don’t want to be that way! He is faithful to speak to me, and I need to be faithful to listen and obey. I grew up in a home where prayer was as natural as breathing, which is in pretty sharp contrast to the way most people are raised. I’m not to be presumptuous, much less take pride in prayer, but keep watch over my own heart, whether I am really listening obediently to what God has said and is saying. I get distracted all too easily, so I need to seek to maintain my focus on my Lord. Only then will I walk in the intimacy that He desires with me, as His child and His servant.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all the things You did yesterday, and for the privilege of being a channel of blessing to the people we were with. Thank You for all the many short-term teams that are coming to Japan this summer. Thank You for the team that will be here from Hong Kong this morning. These people are in and out, but You bring them here to work in them as well as through them. May all of Your purposes be fulfilled, so that the Body of Christ may be built up and many drawn into Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!