This is important for us to look at as we approach a new season in our lives. God has much to show us so we must be open to hear and open to see.

Two things that the Lord has shown me this last week I wanted to share. The first one is what is it about our God that he has us make requests through prayer? Jesus said to ask, seek, and knock. Most people translate that as keep on asking keep on seeking and keep on knocking. Part of  our asking, seeking and  knocking is that God wants us to spend time with him and relate to him. His desire is for us to have an intentional time of talking with him. We find this in the Old Testament also. In Leviticus 25 God is speaking about the land having a time of Sabbath or rest. He says for six years you are to sow and reap, but in the seventh year you are to not sow or gather crops but you are to have year of Sabbath. We find this interesting statement in the middle of these instructions in verses 20-22: “But if you say, "What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?" then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in. Leviticus 25 (New American Standard Bible)

We find even here that God is actually saying if you will talk to me about this I will bless you beyond what you ask. But God wants our interaction with him. He wanted the Israelites to talk with him about this Sabbath that he was initiating. Today we are in the same position, God wants us to bring requests to him about our lives. God is giving directions through Moses and still he is telling the Israelites to talk to me about this. God is looking for us today to engage with him. Ask him about what we are to do about family issues, work issues, life in general issues. We have so much going on in our lives that sometimes we ignore talking with God because we may think he is not really interested in the mundane things of life. I believe he is interested in all aspects of our lives.
Spring time is a good time to look for more intimate times with our Lord. Going for a walk is good, going for a picnic, going for a springtime ski trip.

These are all good times to look for time to talk with God. This is why he wants us to ask, seek and knock, not just to get things from him, but to have a walk that is full of intimacy with the God who created spring time, winter time, and summer time.

The second thing God has been speaking to me about is listening. We tend to talk a lot in prayer of our needs, our wants, have we taken time to listen to God?
We find in Isaiah 55 God speaking to Israel, verses 1-3:

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk. Without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me Listen that you may live And I will make an everlasting covenant with you According to the faithful mercies shown to David. (New American Standard Bible)

God through Isaiah is giving us some insight here to his heart. Are you thirsty for God? Then come to God for his living water that does not cost us money, but it will cost us time. Then to the point I am attempting to make he says listen carefully to me. God is saying hey stop a minute and listen intently with ears open to me. He says to listen carefully, take care how you listen. Are we listening for what we want to hear? Or are we listening for God to speak his words to us? How we listen is so important in our walk with God. It is also important how we listen to those who are in our lives. How do you listen to your spouse? Are you really listening to them? How do you listen to your friends, family, your boss or coworker? God has living water to give us, we need to have listening ears and open hearts.