I recall a time when my wife asked me if I had heard the weather forecast and I replied, “Yes”. “What did it say?” she asked. My response was, “I don’t know, I wasn’t listening”.
The ability to hear without listening is not dissimilar to listening to a familiar Bible passage and suddenly becoming aware of something not realised before. Such was my experience in the days of regular use of the King James Authorised version. Amazingly at four successive services, the last being a Sunday School, I heard the story known as The Prodigal Son. On this occasion, a guest speaker had been invited to speak to the whole group rather than dividing into classes. He started his talk by telling the children he was going to tell a Bible story and if he made a mistake the children could raise their hand. This went well until one girl raised her hand and said he had made a mistake. Smiling, he responded, “No I didn’t” and I agreed that he was right. The girl insisted, “But you did, you said the son ate the pigs’ food, but he didn’t!”
The Bible I was familiar with stated, “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him” So at the age of about 30 a young girl made me aware of something I had heard but not listened to.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we read or listen to Your Word, may we never miss being aware of what you want us to know. AMEN