Jeremiah 32

“They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.” Jeremiah 32:33 NIV

Hearing instruction and listening to instruction are two different things. Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear, while listening is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences, while hearing is an accidental and automatic brain response to a sound that requires no effort. When we hear an incidental sound such as a lawn mower, train, or airplane, unless we have reason to do otherwise, we train ourselves to ignore them. We learn to filter out the sounds that mean little to us, just as we choose to hear the notification of our cell phone and other sounds that are more important to us.

May we consciously listen to the word of God. May the focus of our eyes and ears be on Him and his instruction. May our listening be purposeful and not accidental. May it be meaningful and not incidental.