{"id":11031,"date":"2012-02-09T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2012-02-09T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=11031"},"modified":"2012-02-09T11:25:26","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T17:25:26","slug":"hearing-gods-call-even-while-youre-sleeping-and-maybe-even-if-youre-stuck-in-a-whale-figuratively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/hearing-gods-call-even-while-youre-sleeping-and-maybe-even-if-youre-stuck-in-a-whale-figuratively\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing God\u2019s call even while you\u2019re sleeping, and maybe even if you\u2019re stuck in a whale, figuratively"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Have<\/a>

Have you heard God's call lately?<\/p><\/div>\n

When is the last time you heard a direct message from God? To have a personal relationship with God means you are in conversation with Him \u00a0– after all, communication is a key component of relationship. Is your conversation two ways, or does it seem like you\u2019re doing all the talking?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re only a few weeks into ordinary time and we\u2019ve already heard two readings that specifically refer to God\u2019s call to His people. First is Samuel\u2019s call. Samuel himself is the answer to his mother, Hannah\u2019s, call to God. God has closed Hannah\u2019s womb, Scripture says, and after some years, Hannah cries to God for a son, promising<\/a> that if He does, she will give her son to the Lord. Have you ever asked your parents how you were God\u2019s answer to them? Parents, do you thank God for your children as answers to your \u201cyes\u201d in marriage?<\/p>\n

Anyway, back to Samuel. So Samuel hears God calling<\/a> in the night, and after waking up Eli a few times, he learns the appropriate response, \u201cHere I am Lord, I come to do your will.\u201d After this humble submission to God\u2019s will, Scripture says that the Lord is with Samuel \u201cnot permitting any word of his to be without effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Listen<\/a>

Listen under your own terms, but if you don't, God will make His words heard <\/p><\/div>\n

During Sunday Mass we have also heard of God\u2019s call to Jonah<\/a> to go to the people of Ninevah and ask them to repent. In the reading read at Mass, Jonah heeds God\u2019s call and proclaims God\u2019s message. The people repent and God does not carry out His punishment. This is, of course, Jonah\u2019s second chance – he is more than happy to follow God\u2019s call after finding out that God has all creation at His disposal, including the creatures of the sea, when trying to turn around unwilling messengers.<\/p>\n

Both receive a call but they provide two opposite responses. Responding to God\u2019s call is an entirely different post(s). Today we\u2019re talking about hearing the call. So how do we set ourselves up to hear (and hopefully listen!)?<\/p>\n

Well Samuel is asleep when he hears the call, and Scripture doesn\u2019t tell us that Jonah is in prayer – the word of the Lord simply comes (Job 1:1). In our modern day, this means that God\u2019s word can come at any time – while we\u2019re reading, driving, watching TV, eating, etc. But if we are making too much noise in our heads and stuck in our own world, our internal receiver may be turned off.<\/p>\n

In your prayer time, be sure to make time for God to speak to you by being silent and asking for ears to hear, as Pope Benedict has recommended<\/a>, but make sure that you aren\u2019t closed to His words throughout your daily routine. As we build our relationship with God, conversation with Him throughout the day will become more natural. If you are a Twitterer (or even a frequent Facebooker), just imagine that your inane thought-tweets (the ones so frivolous that you don\u2019t tweet them) are mini conversations with God. After all, He does care about even the smallest details and thoughts of your day.<\/p>\n

<\/object>As we heard in in a Responsorial Psalm<\/a> from this year\u2019s readings: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. If listening, really listening for God\u2019s words is new to you – make some time just to listen and be still. If you need help starting try singing along with this song – Here I am Lor<\/a>d. Let the lyrics soften you heart and open your ears to God\u2019s call for you.<\/p>\n

Another great way to work at hearing God\u2019s call is to learn from those who have been hearing for years. Join a charismatic prayer group at your church, or look for one in a nearby church. There is a charismatic conference in the Austin-area this weekend, you can learn more at www.ccraaustin.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

How do you make time to receive God\u2019s call? How has He sent messages to you?<\/p>\n

Halo Tip # 1: Do you wonder how to tell if what you hear in prayer is from God or just from your mind? While I can\u2019t offer a standard rule – I did find this video on EWTN that discusses how to listen – so take a listen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Halo Tip # 2: Do you journal when you pray? Even if you\u2019re not a journaling person for your petitions or thanskgivings, try writing down what you hear from God. (If you are a journaling person, write down what your hear in another color to help differentiate from your own thoughts). Every prayer group I\u2019ve been in has one or more people who chronicle messages during the meeting so that they can be summed up afterward. I find it helpful to go back and read past messages I\u2019ve heard. Hindsight allows me to see how appropriate the messages were for the particular situation I found myself in. Most of the time I don\u2019t hear something earth-shattering or new, like winning lottery numbers. The message almost always starts with \u201cI love you\u201d and a reminder of how precious I am as God\u2019s child. Because of my intentions, there is usually a reminder not to worry, and to remember the birds and the lilies of the field. Give it a shot and see what trends emerge when you open your ears to hear.<\/p>\n

Note: Reflections in this blog are my own and do not represent the positions of my employer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When is the last time you heard a direct message from God? To have a personal relationship with God means you are in conversation with Him \u00a0– after all, communication is a key component of relationship. Is your conversation two ways, or does it seem like you\u2019re doing all the talking? We\u2019re only a few… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,90,91],"tags":[215,588,587,168,74,216],"class_list":{"0":"post-11031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"category-faith-blog","8":"category-young-adult","9":"tag-bible","10":"tag-call","11":"tag-charismatic","12":"tag-holiness","13":"tag-prayer","14":"tag-readings","15":"entry","16":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":148028,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/spit-mercy-and-the-human-spiritual-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":11031,"position":0},"title":"Spit, Mercy and the Human Spiritual Life","author":"Rachel","date":"September 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What is it about Jesus spitting, putting his fingers in the deaf man's ear? 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