Listening to Jesus As He Listens to the Father

by Steve Wickham

“Consequently, he is able to save those who approach God through him at all times, since he is always alive to intercede on their behalf.”

— Hebrews 7:25 (USC)

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.”

— Mark 1:35 (HCSB)

Communing with God is about communing with ourselves in a way that no other thing intrudes upon the space we’ve made for Him in our consciousness. In a concept, God’s Presence, real, wrought through experience, yet untenable to explanation.

In the above verses, bringing them alongside one another, we find that listening to Jesus coalesces with Jesus’ listening to the Father as He speaks in a way that we’re gifted Jesus’ intercession in a real and momentary way.

We get up very early, ourselves, find ourselves that dark and deserted place alone, and we get so quiet that we can listen. And in that act of stripping away every distraction, we’re gifted the acuity of listening in a way as to hear His Spirit speak, cogently and clearly.

And as His Spirit speaks to us in that quietness of our solitude, we are grounded in the significance of something small yet unique, and blessing superintends our state. His Presence is felt, and again we’re encouraged to keep stepping through this tumultuous life with the countenance of joy through the bravery of faith.

His Presence gifts us a grace with which we cannot explain, and every time that hits our consciousness we experience the miracle that is His grace. Thankfulness mounts up on the wings of gratitude, and, being full of the Holy Spirit, fruit is shed forth in our lives.

As we join Jesus in that most private of solitudes, we see and feel His intercession for us, bequeathed eternally, and we find that getting alone with the Lord is its own reward.

Listening to Jesus as He listens to the Father teaches us something we were meant to know from the beginning: we’re intended to get and remain connected to God. Once we experience it truly we never settle for life without such a gift as spiritual intimacy with the Father, through the Holy Spirit, because of Jesus.

As we listen to Jesus, knowing Jesus is listening to the Father, we experience His saving us, which is the gift of His grace; to experience in extant terms what we know to be eternally true.