i don’t want to listen…

luke 8.5, 12 (ms), some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it...the seeds on the road are those who hear the word, but no sooner do they hear it than the devil snatches it from them so they won't believe and be saved.

GOD wants to speak to us, but HE doesn't even get a chance because our minds are closed, our hearts are hardened, we've already made up our mind, we're unwilling to listen, we've already decided what we're going to do so we don't want to hear from GOD.

so what causes a closed mind?

well, pride for one causes us to have a closed mind.

when i think, "i don't need GOD. i don't need to hear from GOD. i can make this business decision on my own. i don't need GOD. i know what to say to my children.. i don't need GOD. i know how to handle this date...i don't need GOD. i can ace this test without praying." and anytime that you fail to pray about something, you're basically saying, "i don't need GOD in this. i can handle it on my own. i can resolve it. i can solve it. i can handle this mess. i can correct this error. i can solve this conflict. i don't need GOD."

that's called pride. when i am full of pride, i close my mind to GOD and HE can't get in and say anything to me because i think i've got it all figured out. so i don't pray.

another one is fear. sometimes we're just afraid of what GOD might say to us.

what if i pray or open my mind to GOD and GOD tells me to do something i don't want to do? HE might tell me something hard. HE might tell me something unpopular. HE might tell me to do something that i don't think i can do or don't want to do. so i'm afraid.

if i let GOD speak to me, i might become a religious fanatic. maybe GOD will make me some kind of a loony religious nut. so i'm afraid.

i'm afraid i'll loose my freedom. i'm afraid i'll lose my fun. i'm afraid i'll loose my fulfillment in life. no thanks, GOD. so i close my mind. some people close their mind to GOD because of fear.

just a thought from the front porch…