How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news. Yet not everyone has believed the message. For example, the prophet Isaiah asked, “Lord, has anyone believed what we said?”
No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ.
Romans 10:14-17
When my father was four years old he fell down in the road in front of a horse drawn wagon and one of the wheels ran over his head. The permanent injury from the accident was that he lost his hearing in his right ear. Even as a small boy I remember having to be careful when I spoke with my father so he could hear me. I also proved to be helpful to him when he wanted to know where a sound was coming from. With only one ear you can't easily identify the direction of a noise.
Being deaf, or even deaf in one ear is a problem in this world, but what if you are deaf spiritually? I really think that many people are spiritually deaf in one ear. They hear the sounds but cannot tell where they are coming from. When you are listening with two ears you can judge the direction of the sound because it is a little louder in one ear than the other. So when you turn your head, even slightly it becomes clear where the sound is.
There is lots of "spiritual noise" in this world that does not come from God. Just because something is "supernatural" does not mean that God is the author of it. Remember that Satan and his demons are "supernatural" as well. When something is "miraculous" that only means that it either comes from God or from Satan. Unless you are listening with both spiritual ears it is easy to get confused about where the supernatural in your life comes from!
The one "spiritual ear" that goes deaf in most people in this world is the Bible. When you hear something proclaimed to be true in this world, then open the "ear" of God's Word and see what it says. The Bible is the way to tell if some teaching, doctrine or "truth" is from God or the Devil. Your two spiritual ears are your own heart and the Word of God. Without listening with the help of the Bible you will often be deceived.
"Lord Jesus, open my spiritual ears so that I can rightly judge all the messages I hear in the world around me. May I hear clearly with both ears so that I may know the Words that come from You. And may You be praised forever. Amen."
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