* Voice Recognition - or - Learning to Communicate

But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.
John 10:2-5 NLT

My phone has one feature that I REALLY like. Voice Recognition. If I'm near a WIFI connection, all I have to do is hit the microphone symbol and speak my message, instead of the usual hunt and peck to text. If I'm NOT near WIFI, there is no voice recognition feature available.

It does seem to have a little bit of an issue translating a Texas accent, at times. Supposedly, the more I utilize it, the more adept it will become in recognizing my speech patterns. The key is to make sure you choose the right language for response. Mine has several choices, but I assure you, 'Texan' isn't one of them. One thing's for certain, its' inherent word bank clearly indicates it ain't from 'round here, and that can be a source of frustration.

Prayer can feel the same way. After all, it IS communication. But are we near our Connection hook up? If not, we're left hunting and pecking to try to get the message across. Can we hear the Master's voice? If not, we need to check if we're in the sheepfold. He calls us by name. He's the Leader and we follow because we know His voice. If we don't recognize His voice, we need to spend more time so that we become adept in recognizing His speech patterns.

There are 2 keys to Voice Recognition or Learning to Communicate in our text for today. 1) Be sure you are in the right sheepfold, and 2) Know who you are and what is the correct response.

If Christ is the Shepherd, then we are the sheep. That means we need to learn how to respond to Him in kind. That does NOT mean, He speaks and we say "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Clearly, our response should be, "Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" and follow His voice.

Prayer:

Father,
           Help us to remember that prayer is not initiation, but rather it is always in response to You. We want to be fluent in all aspects when speaking with You and when listening for Your voice. We want to recognize You and obey. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen