Hello everyone and welcome to God Today. I’m Ward Simpson coming to you from the rooftop of the upper room, here in Jerusalem. What an exciting place it is to bring you today’s daily devotion. I want to remind you of a Scripture in Proverbs 18:13. Here’s what the wisest man that’s ever lived or ever will live said. The man that God gave such an anointing of wisdom. Here’s what he said. “Listen before you speak. Listen carefully to the matter before you answer. If not, you’re going to be humiliated.” Now that’s my paraphrase. That’s my version of Proverbs 18:13. What Solomon is saying is, listen to the matter before you rush in an answer. Listen carefully. If not, you potentially could be humiliated.
Let me tell you about a story of a preacher I heard. He was a pastor that liked to speak, but he didn’t like to listen. He loved to pray for people, but he just didn’t like to listen to them. One day he called people forward for prayer and he started praying for people and laying hands on people. But he wouldn’t listen. This one young man said to him, “Pastor, please, I want you to pray for my hearing.” He tried to continue, but before he could continue to explain about his hearing, the pastor got his fingers and put it in his ears like this, in the boy’s ears.
He began to pray for the boy’s hearing. He said, “You spirit of deafness, I rebuke you in Jesus’ name.” He just started to call down fire. He started to pray for healing for this boy’s hearing. When he was all done, he looked at the boy and he said, “How’s your hearing?” And the boy said in front of everybody, “It’s not until next Tuesday.” You see, he wanted the pastor to pray for his court hearing, not for his ears. So that pastor was humiliated. If he had read Proverbs that day, he probably could have saved himself the embarrassment.
How about you today? Do you find that you try to answer too quickly? Do you try to respond before you’ve heard the matter out? You know, there’s always more than one side. The Bible says to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Even a fool appears wise if he keeps his mouth shut. There are many times in my life where I have been saved from the embarrassment of speaking too quickly because I remembered Proverbs. Solomon said to be slow to speak.
I want to encourage you today. Many of you are probably going through the same thing that I’ve been through. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. I want to encourage you today with Proverbs 18. Don’t be embarrassed. As you go about your business today, whether you’re at home, work, school, or play, be slow to speak and quick to listen. You’ll be wise in everybody’s eyes.
Let me pray for you today. Father, I pray for everyone watching today, in Jesus’ name, that You would remind them of this Scripture in Proverbs 18. Lord, I pray that they would be a doer of Your word and not a hearer only deceiving their own selves. May they be quick to listen and slow to speak. Help them today in Jesus’ name.
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