A man was brought to Jesus. He was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus led the man away from the crowd, spat and took His saliva and placed it on the man’s tongue. (In the natural that is gross.) He then prayed “Be opened and released.” The man walked away hearing and speaking.

2019 was hard. But it led to a greater intimacy with God. I was constantly relying on Him for sustenance. 2020 has been better but I have found, I have not been as intentional in pursuing His voice. While I don’t miss the pressure, I miss the intimacy. 

When I read the story above, I hear God calling me into a greater level of intimacy. This man’s interaction with Jesus, can be ours as well.

1. Pursue the voice of God. This man searched out Jesus. Paul encouraged the church to desire to prophesy. God is calling me to be more intentional in hearing His voice.

2. Get away from the crowd. I believe God is calling me to a time of fasting and solitude with him. Life can be busy and full of distractions. I need to spend some time in quiet, just me and Jesus, enjoying His presence.

3. Be vulnerable. Allowing Jesus to put his saliva in my mouth is a level of intimacy that makes me uncomfortable. Am I willing to obey God’s voice at the risk of appearing weird? Am I so intimate with God that I only seek His approval and am unconcerned with what others think? Am I willing to lose friends, readers, to walk in obedience? Can God really have all of me? If I desire intimacy, I must surrender all.

God is calling me deeper this morning, back to my first love. He has so much He wants to share with me, so many things He wants to reveal. Yes, I hear His voice right now. Yes, He has used me to speak into other’s lives. But I want more and He wants to share more. I want to hear more clearly and He wants to speak more clearly to me. 

So my prayer this morning is what Jesus prayed for the deaf man. “Open and release. Open my ears to hear your voice more clearly and release my tongue to boldly proclaim your love, your vision, your purpose, your future, your heart for your children. Loose my tongue to heal, encourage, preach.”

I believe this call to go deeper is an invitation to us all. Will you join me?

“They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him. Jesus, taking him aside by himself, away from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, He touched the man’s tongue [with the saliva]; and looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which [in Aramaic] means, “ Be opened and released!” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he began speaking plainly.

They were thoroughly astounded and completely overwhelmed, saying, “He has done everything well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!””

MARK 7:32-35, 37 AMP

Modified post from 2017