Where and whether we hear God depends on where we are and where we expect Him to be, or to do. Jesus says whoever present with Him, listening to His words with understanding, is His family. To be blessed with the ability to hear is a gift, but listening includes discernment and the discipline to apply what's been heard. Its Greek root akouw (e.g. acoustics) involves both receiving and responding with obedience. They are two sides of the same coin. The word obedience comes from Latin ob-audire, “to listen with great attentiveness.” If we become deaf (Latin surdus), totally deaf (absurdus), to the voice of love that speaks to us in the present moment, our lives become absurd.

The Chinese character for listening 聽 means to turn our ears to hear the king, using correct (straight = ortho-) sight (and insight) with one (single-minded, focused) heart. To be obedient is to listen to someone’s words (聽話). In the central reception room of a palace or a government department 廳, words are spoken to be listened to and obeyed.

All these emphasize attention, mindfulness, and reflection to respond to a voice of authority. Are we attentive to Jesus' presence in the here and now, listening to His voice? Here I am, Lord. Or do we gravitate to the past instead, because that was how we have met Jesus, whether in celebration or in grief? We may even be trying to escape from our present circumstances and to hide from God, fearing to hear His voice. Is God nowhere, or is He now here for us to hear? He who has ears, let him hear. Be the wise builder who listened and understood, then built his house on the Rock.