RE Verse reading–Psalm 40 (day three) “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—but my ears you have opened—burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.” People use their ears for more—much more—than listening. Often, ears function as filters: You hear what you want to hear. Ears also serve as early warning systems: You recognize the voice of someone you don’t wish to see, so you go somewhere else. God calls us to hear him—to stop even our religious observances lest they become a substitute for paying attention to him. Jesus often punctuated his teaching with a call for people to use their ears to take his words into their minds and think: “He who has ears, let him hear.” If we listen, we can ponder; if we ponder, we can pray. If we pray, we God will hear.
