I'm all ears

Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:9

I’m all ears means you’re giving the person speaking to you your full attention and you’re eager to hear what they say. This is an old idiom reiterating the fact we are using both our ears to give someone our undivided attention.

Hearing is one of our five senses and most of us hear without any effort unless of course there has been hearing damage or born with hearing loss. Sound waves travel into our ears and we’re able to decipher what is heard.

We’re camping this week and have two of our grandchildren with us. To say we have a listening issue is an understatement! Oh there’s nothing wrong with their hearing, they just don’t like what they hear. Mama called it “selective hearing”.

Listening, I mean really listening, is a skill set we all could probably improve on. I know I sometimes interrupt when someone else is talking if I’m not careful because I get so excited about what I want to say that I won’t let the other person complete their thought. A good listener requires patience and concentration while being attentive to the one speaking.

Back in the day, prophets actually heard the voice of God speak to them when they were used as mediators between God and man. When Samuel was called into service, he heard his name being called out on three separate occasions before he realized it was God calling him and in 1 Samuel 3:10 it says, “The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’.” He heard, but once he knew it was God speaking he was all ears and eager to be obedient.

Just as we have to have our children’s full attention if we want them to listen, God wants us to be attentive when He’s speaking to us. Psalm 34:15 says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;”. God listens to our prayers when we are obedient and He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us so when we’re nudged to act, we should do so. We are able to identify with those in need when we open our heart and ears at the same time, which enables us to minister just as Jesus did.