How to Receive God's Word: Opening Your Heart and Mind

How to Receive God's Word: Opening Your Heart and Mind

Have you ever felt like you're not truly hearing God's message, even when you're actively seeking it? The key to receiving God's word lies not just in listening, but in how we prepare ourselves to receive it. Let's explore the powerful concept of expectation and the importance of keeping our spiritual gates open.

The Power of Expectation

Expectation is a force so potent that even heaven cannot deny it. While hope expresses a belief in something distant, often tinged with uncertainty, expectation is about envisioning. It's the ability to foresee and look for what you believe will happen.

Consider Proverbs 23:18 (KJV): "For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off." This verse reminds us that our expectations are not in vain. When we approach God's word with genuine expectation, we prepare our hearts and minds to receive His message.

Think about the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-34. She didn't just hope for healing; she expected it. "For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole." Her expectation was so strong that it propelled her through the crowd to touch Jesus' garment, resulting in her immediate healing.

Similarly, in Acts 14:8-10, we read about a man crippled from birth who had never walked. When he heard Paul speaking, he had faith - an expectation - to be healed. Paul recognised this and commanded him to stand, resulting in the man leaping and walking for the first time in his life.

These stories teach us a profound truth: we don't have a right to anything we don't expect, and our blessings often come in proportion to our expectation. So, as we approach God's word, let's cultivate an expectation that He will speak to us, that we will understand, and that His word will produce results in our lives.

Keeping Our Spiritual Gates Open

To receive God's word effectively, we must keep our spiritual gates open. This means being attentive with our eyes, ears, hearts, and mouths.

Open Your Eyes and Ears

Ezekiel 12:2 warns about those who "have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not." It's not enough to simply have the ability to see and hear; we must actively use these senses to perceive God's message.

Jesus himself spoke about this in Matthew 13:13-16, explaining why He taught in parables. He emphasised the blessing of having eyes that truly see and ears that genuinely hear. When we approach God's word, are we truly seeing and hearing, or are we allowing distractions and preconceptions to cloud our perception?

Open Your Heart

Proverbs 3:1 encourages us, "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments." Our hearts must be open to store God's word. Psalm 119:11 beautifully expresses this: "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You."

When our hearts are open to God's word, it becomes a guiding light in our lives. As Psalm 119:105 states, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Without God's word stored in our hearts, we're like travelers in an unfamiliar place without a map, relying solely on others for direction.

Open Your Mouth

What we declare with our mouths is a product of what's in our hearts. Romans 10:10 reminds us, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Our mouths play a crucial role in acknowledging and affirming God's word in our lives.

Remember Mary's response to the angel's message in Luke 1:38: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." By speaking out our acceptance of God's word, we align ourselves with His will and invite His power to work in our lives.

Moreover, our words have creative power. Just as God spoke the world into existence in Genesis 1, we too can use our words to shape our reality. Mark 11:23 tells us, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Practical Steps to Receive God's Word

1. Cultivate Expectation: Approach God's word with the belief that He will speak to you and that His message will transform your life.

2. Engage Your Senses: Actively listen and observe when encountering God's word, whether through reading, preaching, or personal reflection.

3. Open Your Heart: Allow God's word to penetrate deep into your heart, storing it as a treasure to guide and protect you.

4. Speak It Out: Declare God's word over your life, affirming its truth and inviting its power to manifest in your circumstances.

5. Act on It: Like Elijah in 1 Kings 18, who acted on God's promise of rain even when the sky was clear, be ready to obey God's word in faith.

As we practice these principles, we position ourselves to receive God's word more fully. Remember, sometimes God's answers come in unexpected ways. Like Elijah's servant who saw just a small cloud as the answer to years of drought, or Naaman who was healed by following a simple instruction to wash in the Jordan, we must be open to God's voice in all its forms.

Let's approach God's word with renewed expectation and openness. As we do, we'll find that His message becomes clearer, more impactful, and more transformative in our lives. After all, as Numbers 14:28 reminds us, God says, "just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you." Let our words and hearts align with His truth, and watch as He moves powerfully in response to our faith and expectation.