I read an interesting story about Stephen Grellet, a pioneer evangelist to the lumbermen in the Rocky Mountains. He felt the Spirit of God leading him to a particular lumber camp to preach. When he got there, the place was absolutely deserted. He said, "Lord, I don't understand, but I'm going to be obedient." So he opened his Bible without a soul in sight and preached a full-length message. Then he pled for people to come to Christ. He said, "Lord, I don't know what that was all about but Lord, I was obedient." Years later, a man walked up to him in England and said, "I was the foreman at a lumber camp. I had come back to the camp to get an ax, and I heard you preaching. I stood behind a pile of lumber and listened. As you preached, my heart was strangely warmed, and I repented of my sin and gave my heart to Jesus Christ. I later witnessed to four other men. Now, all five of us are missionaries preaching around the world."

How important it is that we obey completely in small things! Naaman was asked to dip seven times in the river Jordan. At first, he angrily refused. But in 2 Kings 5:13 his servants asked him, "… if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?"

Do you know why many of us are not obeying God more than we are? Because we're not hearing what God is saying. We're not spending time listening to God. That's the importance of a quiet time, that's the importance of getting somewhere alone with God in a nook with this book and reading and listening.