He who has ears, let him hear.

Did you know that the enemy comes to steal truth from us? Demons confess it during deliverance sessions, but did you know scripture warns us of this?

We can sit in church services and pull our Bible to read out of obligation, but the mysteries of the Bible are locked to those who are not earnestly seeking Him and His Truth. Hearing a good sermon might fill us up for the moment, but is it rooting down in us? Are we aligning our thoughts and emotions with scripture? Are we allowing scripture to change us at our core?

Reading or hearing scripture is very different from dwelling on it, seeking understanding from it, coming into agreement with it, and actively engaging with that scripture. When Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear.” He is not talking about physical ears. Have your spiritual ears been cultivated?

Our intentions, engagement, desire, state of surrender, degree of humbleness, and level of seeking all play a part in whether the truth we seek stays rooted in us or is snatched away from us. Interestingly though, it is God’s word that is needed to set us free and keep us walking in freedom (John 8:32).But for some, the words they read are but a mystery and do not make any sense at all. They will never understand and never see because of their calloused heart.

Having a difficult time with scripture? Do you feel like the world around you is bigger than your God? Do you look and scripture and wonder why your life looks very different than what a Christ follower’s life should look like?

Prayer strategy:

Pray for a softened heart.

Pray that the Lord would show you truth.

Pray that the Lord would root that truth so deep in you that the enemy cannot snatch it away.

Pray that His word is so rooted in you that it begins to overflow out of you and becomes your natural response to the world around you.

The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13)

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”