Tim Cameron Writings

Stop that Babbling!

Scriptures for Day 2

Matthew 17: 1-6

James 1:26

Revelations 2:7, 17

Day 2

Stop That Babbling

In one of the Bible’s most glorious and mysterious moments, Jesus takes James, John, and Peter up in the mountains. Before their very eyes, Jesus is transfigured. Then Moses and Elijah show up and start having a conversation with Jesus. Wow, would I be listening to every word.

But not Peter. While Moses and Elijah are talking to Jesus, Peter butts in and answers for Jesus and suggests they build a dwelling and just stay there. What is he thinking? Luke (9:33) adds this description to Peter’s ramblings, “He did not know what he was saying.”

Now, the scene takes a seismic shift. “While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him” (Matt. 17:5, MSG). God shows up in a cloud, surrounds them all, interrupts Peter, and summarily says, stop talking and listen to My Son!

Peter was guilty of “jumping in.” You know what I mean. You are talking with someone or are in a group, and before your lips can stop moving, a person parachutes in and hijacks the conversation. What is it about us that when we are conversing with other people, our minds are running, contemplating a response? When we do this, we are making life all about us. Let me be blunt; we need to stop running our mouths if we are ever going to start really listening.

Here’s the deal: You will never be able to hear the Lord or get to know Him intimately as long as you are talking. That also applies to your relationships with others. When applied to your daily life, this truth will transform your interactions with God and others: You never get to know someone by talking about yourself. Stop talking about yourself to others.

James wanted us to connect the dots between our mouth—and the words that cross our tongue—and our heart. You will never be a good listener until your heart can be turned outward (towards others) by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you can begin to hold your tongue.

“My dear dearest brothers and sisters, take this to heart: Be quick to listen but slow to speak (James 1:26, TPT).

Learning to Listen to God and Others

I created this Five-Day Reading Plan on YouVersion, the Bible App. You can find it there under my name, Tim Cameron, in the reading plans. Well over 10,000 people have completed this plan

Day 1 of 5

Scriptures for Day 1

Matthew 13: 3-9, 19-23

Acts 28: 26-27

Day 1

If We Miss His Voice, We Have Missed Everything.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it best when he penned, “The first service that one owes to others is the ministry of listening. And the beginning of love for others is listening to them.”

Let’s get honest as we get started here and admit we need serious help with listening. If there is one thing you could do to deepen your life in the Lord and breathe life into your relationships with other Christians and people in general, it would be to become a better listener.

A skillful listener is the key to having more than just electroplated thin relationships—strictly on the surface. You know what I mean: Conversation after conversation that might as well just be musing about the weather, sports, or listening to someone talk about themselves. And listening is the fundamental necessity for intimacy with Christ. How have we missed such a critical component of life?

Listening is just one form of communication—though crucial—along with reading, writing, speaking, and non-verbal forms (body language and visual communication). But we don’t teach ourselves to read, and writing doesn’t come naturally. How many people do you know who are just natural speakers and love to get up in front of others and talk? Why would we just think people naturally listen well?

I’ve been in educational leadership for forty-plus years at every level, and to my amazement, I have not encountered a single course on listening skills in any curriculum anywhere. Somehow, we have missed teaching this crucial skill: Listening.

Few things challenge our impatience and selfishness as much as giving our full attention to listen to someone. When was the last time someone—with deep empathy, understanding, and tenderness listened to you? They didn’t jump in with a similar story, get interrupted by their phone, or end the conversation abruptly and rush off? How did that make you feel when someone really listened to and understood you?

The most important thing I will say to you in these five days is this: We must learn to hear the voice of the Lord. If we miss His voice, we have missed everything. And you will see in the next few days that learning to listen to the voice of the Lord and that of others is strikingly similar and startlingly simple.

God speaks to those who listen

After a time of intense prayer and Bible study a few days ago, God spoke this profound, simple message to me, “I speak to those who listen.” More on this to come; read on.

I’ve been praying extra lately—as I am sure many of us have been doing. And I have returned to the staples on prayer in my bookshelves. Which, by the way, are lined with a panoply of the more excellent books on prayer. As an aside, it is interesting the things we cherish in life when it comes to possessions. I would be hard-pressed to choose between my first editions of The Ministry of Intercession by Andrew Murray (1898), Visions Beyond the Veil by H.A. Baker or Rees Howells Intercessor by Norman Grubb.

I mention these books on prayer as a “drum roll” to recommend to you, perhaps, the most exquisite piece I have read on prayer, how to pray a simple guide for normal people by Pete Greig. Please do read it.

Back to that, “more on this to come.” Bonhoeffer says—in his seminal work on fellowship with God and others—Life Together, “Silence before the Word leads to right hearing and thus also to right speaking of the Word of God at the right time. Much that is unnecessary remains unsaid. But the essential and the helpful thing can be said in a few words.” Bonhoeffer puts his finger on why I am hearing God more these days: I am listening more. I am listening intentionally and with many fewer distractions.

God is not mercurial in His speaking to us. He doesn’t blithely download a word here and there. He is constant, and His Word is always at our fingertips. We have a powerful in time our lives right now to deliberately be still and listen to the Lord. Turn your ear to Him during this time of stillness and diminishing distraction.

#47 of Top 100 Books Living in His Presence Vol. 1 by Sylvia Gunter

Tim Cameron Writings

300 plus pages of rich instructions, workbook guides, prayers, and encouragement to live in God’s presence. There are two volumes. It took me over five years to work through this volume. This work by Sylvia Gunter is an amazing compliation of a person’s life work in learning to pray and host the presence of God. Truly a gift from God.

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#47 of Top 100 Books Living in His Presence Vol. 1 by Sylvia Gunter

What prayer is meant to be…

What prayer can be like—and probably is meant to be.

Sometimes it’s possible to become so absorbed in God’s reality that I forget myself completely. I am no longer consciously praying or worshipping. Words would be inadequate and even inappropriate. Anthony of the Desert described this 1,700 years ago, as “Perfect prayer is not to know that you are praying.”

Pete Greig

Andrew Murray calls this, “The Spirit of Prayer”. It is the work of the whole being, which continually stands in fullness of faith, in the purity of love, in absolute willingness to do and be what pleases God. It is the highest union with God in this life. What prayer is not. It is not any particular action confined to times, or words, or places.

Pete goes on…If a movie is better than good—if it is truly great—you will eventually get completely caught up in its plot, utterly absorbed and deeply affected. Your popcorn will be forgotten. It will no longer be “me and the film” or even “the film and me” but “only the film.” Such all-consuming experiences and the overwhelming human desire for them—in art, in sex, in nature, in moments of sporting euphoria, in deep conversations with friends—are rumors of another world. They whisper that we are made for eternity, wired to worship, happiest whenever we abandon ourselves to something greater and more beautiful than our own little lives.

Pass the test?

When difficult things happened to me in the past, I quickly looked for someone to blame. Who was I to blame if I couldn’t blame someone else? And if I couldn’t find someone, there was always Satan to accuse. Honestly, many of my problems were the results of poor decisions, immaturity, or outright sin.

The Lord was often disciplining me.

I believe now, significant portions of my trials were also testings from God, and they continue. What?! Does God test us? Oh yes, He wants to use us in majestic ways. First, we must be proven faithful and true.
It is hard to get our minds around the fact that the Spirit immediately took Jesus into the wilderness after His baptism to be tempted by Satan. The same thing happened to the children of Israel after being freed from bondage in Egypt—unlike Jesus; they failed their tests.

He spoke:
I am the potter. I see flaws no one else can see. You must be able to withstand the allure of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and your propensity to be proud. You need to be broken and refashioned. Do you know your appetites, attachments, and addictions?

I test you for a purpose. You must be trusted and remain faithful. The testing may seem severe, but it is only momentary. My surest vessels are forged in the fire and under the hammer. I desire for you to be a polished arrow, one that will fly true to course.

There are high possibilities that lie dormant in your life. My testing will enlarge your capacity for sympathy. You will grow strong in the Spirit. The fragrance of your life will change.

“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jer. 17:10).
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).

#49 of Top 100 Books The hungry Always Get Fed by Heidi Baker

I spend a lot of time at the garbage dump. It is my favorite place to be. The people there are so hungry that when it comes time to eat, they literally stomp on each other. I have witnessed this time and again, so I asked God, “What is this?” He said, The ones who are hungry get fed. The ones who are thirsty get to drink. It is that simple.

What are you doing for Lent?

Consider going through the twenty-three times Jesus prayed and do it over forty days.

Read 40 Days Through the Prayers of Jesus

Tim Cameron takes us to the source of all true prayer—the words and example of Jesus Christ Himself. It’s a refreshingly simple approach. What better teacher could there be? And what greater arena for growth? The prayers of Jesus powerfully shape our world to this day, and here is your invitation to join in..
—Pete Greig Cofounder of 24-7 Prayer International Author of How to Pray, Red Moon Rising and Dirty Glory.

40 Days Through the Prayers of Jesus is a compelling invitation into deeper intimacy with God. As Tim Cameron shows you how vital prayer was to Jesus, you’ll find your- self hungering for a greater connection yourself. You’ll no longer see prayer as a rigid obligation but as an endearing lifestyle of engagement with Jesus and the Father that puts everything else about life into perspective. This is a book you won’t want to miss!
—Wayne Jacobsen Author of He Loves Me and co-author of The Shack