Why Mary?

Many years ago I heard someone ask, “Why did God speak to Mary?” And the answer was, “Because she was listening.”

Listening to God, listening for God, is an aspect of life that has by and large been lost to moderns who call themselves Christians. It has not always been this way.

“One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields . . .” Genesis 24:63.

In this verse, Isaac was practising something that was at one time common among the people of God - meditation - listening - looking for direction from one’s Creator in one’s own life.

The Bible talks about meditation, engaging with God, or spiritual listening (don’t confuse this with worldly meditation which is about disengaging) almost sixty times.

It means to reflect on God’s law, to ruminate on His works, to listen to what He is saying to our soul. Psalm 119 is one of my favourite examples of descriptions of meditating on God’s wonderful directions.

“I lie awake thinking of You, meditating on You through the night,” Psalm 63:6

“I stay awake through the night, thinking about Your promise.,” Psalm 119:148

“But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. Psalm 1:2

Meditation, spiritual listening involves three things:
. Hearing God’s word
. Obeying God’s word
. Separating from - not for the sake of separation but to be with God.

The principle is simple, the odds of hearing from God, while not impossible, are unlikely if we're not listening, reading, watching, spiritually attending.