Listen With Discernment

21 Jul

“In the inner heart of every person the voice of God and the insidious voice of the Evil One can be heard. The latter seeks to deceive the human person, seducing him with the prospect of false goods, to lead him away from the real good that consists precisely in fulfilling the divine will.”  St. Pope John Paul II

Yes, it is true.  We hear voices all the time.  The tiny whisperings inside of us that suggest what we should say, what we should do, and what we should be.  In trying to discern those voices from within, we attempt to find verification in the world around us.

The world is filled with voices as well.  The trap comes in listening to the wrong voices rather than the correct one.  How can we know what voice to heed?  How can we know the proper choices to make?  We learn discernment in the doing.

If we want to heed God’s voice, we already have a huge road map to follow:  the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  When we perform the works of mercy, our attention is drawn to the need — material or spiritual — of another.  We take the attention and focus off of ourselves and place it on another.  In fulfilling that person’s needs, we invest ourselves fully in the faith not only with our head but also with our heart.

We have other means of preparing ourselves as well:  prayer.  Any kind of prayer is a wonderful way to grow closer to God.  The closer we get to God, the more we become attuned to His voice.  If we hear a voice, then, in the recesses of our minds that seems to conflict with the God we have come to know, we will realize that it is not of God and be able to reject it.

The devil is real and does everything that he can to keep us from listening to God and embracing God’s will.  We need to keep ourselves focused and conditioned.  By prayer and works of mercy, we will be able to reject false invitations and come to know God better.

FAITH ACTION:  Ask God to give you the grace you need to discern His voice and His will over that of the enemy.