Theme of the Week: Making A Godly Impact
Bible Verse: “And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:10 ESV
Scripture Reading: Acts 16:6-15
The third habit I want you to foster is that of listening for the Spirit’s voice. I suggest you find at least one chunk of time, preferably at the beginning of each week, to stop and create space to commune with God.
For many people, listening to the Holy Spirit is like trying to hear the radio in a busy coffee shop. You can make out the announcer’s voice, but you have to strain over the hubbub of the other patrons to make out what she’s saying. This is the same situation that exists when you try to listen to the Holy Spirit with too many people or things offering interference. Everything and everyone else must be “turned off.”
Our practice of generosity and hospitality must be intentionally nurtured and sustained by the disciplines of solitude, silence, and prayer. We need to learn to listen to the voice of God, particularly as he shapes us as missionaries and fills our hearts with love for those to whom he sends us.
The third habit will provide you with a nurture, sustenance, and accountability for the missional lifestyle. Listening to the Holy Spirit can become for you, just as it has for me, a source of comfort, a source of great peace, a source of answers to present problems. Listening to God can be one of the highest forms of prayer.
The Spirit might bring to your mind the name or the face of a person you are to bless or eat with (which is why you might want to begin your week with this exercise). The Spirit might convict you of sin or encourage you in your faithfulness. The Spirit might prompt you to reengage with someone you blessed last week, or he might bring to mind something you ought to have said to someone but didn’t. You will sense his presence in your heart, that presence will add strength to your arm and oxygen to your soul, and you will be filled with his rewards: love, joy, peace, or any of the other fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Some content taken from Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People by Michael Frost. Copyright © 2016 by Michael Frost. Used by permission of NavPress, represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.
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