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Diets
that develop or diminish our hearing |
What we fill our hearts and
minds with is highly likely to affect our hearing. The
company we keep and the books we read will, to a large
extent, determine the sort of people we will become.
The TV soaps and sitcoms do nothing to promote an eternal
perspective, or to help us hear the Still Small Voice. What
they can do is to make us dangerously passive, living our
emotional lives through the highs and lows of these
imaginary characters.
I was brought up on the BBC radio classic, Listen with
Mother. Given the central role that television plays in
most people’s weekly routine, can we ‘Watch with our
Heavenly Father’ and turn away from programs – and even
conversations – that jar and jangle our spirits?
You can? That is a sure sign that your spirit is still
functioning. You find it hard to reach for the off-button?
Here is a simple but possible remedy. See if the Lord is
‘anointing’ you for something else!
God comes close to those who wait for Him, and who soak
themselves in His Word. Reading, like travelling, expands
our experience and increases our understanding of the ways
God works.
We can learn truths from books that can inspire us to new
heights, and save us from years of stumbling along wrong
paths.
It is good to stock our mind by reading widely – but we can
feed our spirit richer fare by slowing right down, and
focusing on just a few verses of Scripture, or on some book
that is speaking to our hearts.
Lord,
please lead us to the material
That we can read and watch with the heart;
Things that will not just inform our minds
But touch and inspire our spirits,
and release Your creative flow in our lives. |
For Reflection and
Prayer
Turning what we have read and watched into prayer is an
excellent way to share more of our lives with the Lord, and
to cultivate the Still Small Voice. Reflect on some of the
books that you have read in the past year or two. (Magazine
or newspaper articles will do equally as well). Pray for the
people who wrote them, and meditate on the subjects that
they cover. Is there anyone else the Lord would have you
introduce this valuable material to?
Next, recall a few special documentaries that have meant a
lot to you. ‘Harness’ the information that has touched you,
and use it as a starting point for prayer.
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