Draw near to hear

Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Ecclesiastes 5:1 NKJV

Draw near to hear. How often to do we go to God with our words and our thoughts? So keen to tell Him what we feel and what we need. The Message Bible warns us in verse 2 ....

Don't shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think. Don't be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear. God's in charge, not you - the less you speak, the better. Ecclesiastes 5:2 The Message

There is plenty to ponder in that verse alone. But for me the essence is, do more listening than talking. Something along the lines of ...

Let be and be still, and know (recognise and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted on the earth! Psalm 86:10 AMP

In our conversations with other people, how difficult would it be to hear what they had to say, if we just talked all the time, leaving them no opportunity to say more than 'hello'? Well, today, let's make sure we give God the space in our prayer time to say more than 'hello'. Let's give Him the space to speak to us. Let's choose to draw near to hear, not just to talk.

 
Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. Ecclesiates 5:2 NKJV