Reading: Psalm 4-6
QUESTIONS
Psalm 4:
- How often do you cry out to God in distress?
- What can you do to be angry yet not sin?
- How has God allowed you to dwell in safety throughout your life?
Psalm 5:
- What does it look like for you to take refuge in God?
Psalm 6:
- Think of a time when God disciplined you. Can you find any blessings that have come from it? Thank Him for His intervention in Your life.
DEVOTION
How good of a listener do you think you are? I like to think I’m pretty good at it! In fact, in a recent study, 96% of people interviewed considered themselves to be good listeners. Can you believe that? If you’re skeptical of that number, you would be in line with the researchers. In a similar study, it was determined that people actually only retain about 50% of what someone says to them – and that’s immediately after the conversation! Other studies have reported that number as low as 25%. So it appears that we’re not very good listeners after all. What are the causes for our poor listening skills? People are often distracted from listening because they’re thinking about their response while the other person is still talking…or they may not be thinking about the conversation at all! Praise God that He is not like us!
Psalms 4, 5, and 6 remind us that, when we pray, we speak to our God who listens to us perfectly and doesn’t forget a thing. He hears us when we cry out for His help, when we petition for others, and when we worship Him. We have a loving Father who hears our voice and responds to our words. He can’t wait to hear from us! It can sometimes be hard to believe because we live in a world full of lousy listeners. However, when we speak with Him, we know that He is fully engaged in what we have to say and we can take refuge in Him, be glad and even sing for joy!
– Gary Laird