* Hey, It's Me

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 10:3-5 NLT

How many times do you listen to voicemail that starts out with, "Hey, it's me..." and you know immediately who "me" is. Some voices we know so well that they don't even have to say, "Hey, it's me;" we know who it is the minute they open their mouth. Some are the voices of loved ones, cherished friends... A favorite DJ or speaker/preacher, favorite actor, favorite singer(s) - all voices that are easily recognizable. 

The latest ploy of telemarketers is to start the conversation with "Hey, it's me. I just wanted to call and tell you about..." like they know me... And based on, Hey, it's me,  you think you should know the voice and your brain starts searching for some familiar tone or voice inflection to figure out who this is and then you realize it's not your friend after all. It's someone impersonating a friend. Deceptive.

So, whose voice are you listening to? The one pretending to be your friend, but really trying to deceive you - or the One whose voice is very distinctive - a still, small voice so familiar to our hearts that He should just be able to open His mouth to breathe and we'd know Him. He'd never have to say, Hey, it's Me.

Prayer:

Father,

         We want to know You more, to know You better, to be so intimate with the sound of Your voice that we shush any voice that tries to talk over You. Speak to us, Father - give us ears to hear You and only You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* 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