I have a brother who is deaf.  He wears hearing aids sometimes, but he would rather communicate through sign language.  The hearing aids aren’t a complete solution because the problem is not just an amplification issue, it’s a frequency issue.  In other words, even when the sound is amplified Tim only hears certain frequencies.  I remember once long ago, listening to a recording that attempted to simulate how he would hear words.  It wasn’t cool.  I couldn’t understand any of it, but what I did understand was why it was so difficult for Tim to talk.  What we hear shapes how we speak.

I recently read a story — on another blog — about a musical trainer who worked with Opera singers who could not hit certain notes within an octave, even though the notes fell well within their vocal range.   The trainer was mystified, so he did extensive testing on their vocal chords, but he couldn’t find any reason why they couldn’t hit those notes. On a whim, he tested their hearing.  He discovered that problem was not with their voice, it was with their ears.  They had a hearing problem.  They could not hear the notes that they could not sing and they could not sing a note that they could not hear.

I wonder if our ability to listen to God would change the way we sing when we worship? I wonder if hearing God speak would change the way we talk about our faith? I wonder if our prayers are hard to understand, because we can’t hear the voice of God?

When we listen, it shapes what comes out of our mouths.  To whom we listen will shape what comes out of our hearts.  When we hear the music, we not only dance, we begin to sing.  This is why it’s so important to read the Word. When you open the Bible God opens His mouth.