Our Daily Bread Teens EditionSample

Read Psalm 40:6–10

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire –

 but my ears you have opened; –

 burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come –

 it is written about me in the scroll.

8 I desire to do your will, my God;

 your law is within my heart.”

9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;

    I do not seal my lips, Lord,

    as you know.

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;

    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.

I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness

    from the great assembly.

Opened Ears

Recently I was having trouble with my ears and decided to try a different way of treating them. This treatment was supposed to melt the wax in my ears and clear out anything that might be preventing me from hearing. I have to admit that it sounded like a strange thing to do. But I was desperate to hear clearly again, so I was willing to try.

Good hearing is incredibly important, especially when it comes to listening to God. In Psalm 40:6, David said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—but my ears you have opened—burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.” 

The word “opened” in this verse can be translated as “cleared out”. God wants our ears to be open and ready to hear Him as He speaks to us through the Bible. Sometimes, however, our hearing can get blocked by the background noise of schoolwork, friends, entertainment, and other things that seem more important than spending time with God.

We need to make sure that we are making time to hear what He has to say to us through the Bible. We can ask Him to open our ears to what He has to say, and to give us the strength to live it out. —BC

God speaks through the Bible—are you taking the time to listen?

Thinking It Over

How can we “open our ears” to hear what God is telling us through the Bible?

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