Hello, thank you for joining me today for Give Him 15.

And the title of our post today is The Nudge.

Several years ago, I was observing a small herd of elk just before dark.

The wind was just right, blowing my scent away from them,

and I had just enough cover between the

herd and myself to crawl within 20 yards or so. Eventually, just to see if I could do it, I crawled

very slowly out into the open and watched them. They never saw me. One of the things that intrigued me most

was the twitching of the elk's ears. Ever vigilant. Each time they heard a sound, their ears would

prick up in order to hear it even better. Whether eating, drinking, taking a step, they were always

diligent to listen for a potential threat. Their lives depended on it. As I watched them,

the pricking up of their ears reminded me of a word in scripture I had studied.

I recall that this was the literal meaning of one of the Hebrew words for listening.

Kashab means to prick up the ears like an animal coming to alertness.

This live picture, painted by the elk, was indeed worth a thousand words.

One of the places Kashab is used is in Proverbs 4, 20 through 22, a fairly well-known passage of scripture, my son, give attention to.

There's the word, translated with three English words. Give attention to my words.

Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight, but keep them in the midst of your heart,

for their life to those who find them and health to their whole body.

My understanding of giving attention to the Lord's words went to a whole new level as I watched the ears of the ever-vigilant elk.

Always listened diligently for his voice as though your life depends upon it,

came to my mind. No matter what you happen to be doing, remain tuned into him. I was thinking.

Spending time with God through prayer, worship, quiet meditation, tunes the soul and awakens the

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