Weary ears in a multiplicity of words

"If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.
Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, "Speak, for thy servant heareth." Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy Voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking Voice. Amen." - A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

My ears are weary indeed.

There are so many words constantly flying towards them - the words spoken by friends and family, the words read in books and articles, the deep and thought-provoking words of great authors and the light-hearted everyday words on Facebook and cooking blogs. They all demand my attention, attracting me in diverse ways, calling to my mind. And somewhere in the midst of all those words, all those myriad voices clamoring for my listening ear, the Voice of God is lost. It is hard enough to still my mind enough to focus on any of the other, lighter, easier voices for a significant amount of time, let alone to devote my mind and heart to listening to the most significant, life-changing, earth-shattering Voice of all. That requires a lot of concentration! And my ears are too weary to set themselves to so great and difficult a work.

Will I listen to Him speaking? Will I set my heart and my mind and my soul to the task of being still before Him and hearing His Words? Only He can fill the emptiness of my heart and relieve the bitter anxious sorrow of my soul; why then do I give up on listening to Him before I even fully begin? Dear Lord, please open my ears to hear You, that Your words may sink to the depths of my heart and take root there, that I may know You in Your glory and grace. Amen.