LISTEN FOR, AND TO HIS VOICE

A song popped into my mind while meditating on today’s text and that song was “shepherd of my soul by Martyn Nystrom”. I noticed that I was singing the  third line as “I have made the choice to listen TO your voice” and somehow, there was a check “are you sure?”. The reason for this check was because of the alternative preposition “FOR” which could affect meaning interpretation.

The correct lyrics to the song is:

“Shepherd of my soul I give You full control
Wherever You may lead I will follow
I have made the choice to listen for Your voice
Wherever You may lead I will go

‘Listening for a voice’ is listening with the intention to recognise, and ‘listening to a voice’ is listening with the intention to obey. Recognition has to proceed obedience else one might find themselves responding to instructions from wrong sources. It is the reason Jesus says “the sheep hear the shepherd’s voice and follow him out only because they know his voice (John 10:2-4).

It is, therefore, important to first ‘listen for’ the voice of God, and that is applicable to the things we see, hear and read, even the guidance from men who know God. We ought to recognise the real voice. Only then do we proceed to “listen to the voice”, and to obey, lest our obedience becomes disobedience to God because it not He who spoke.

#sly