🦻 Spiritual Ear Infection
By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
📖 Introduction
In the natural, an ear infection causes pain, discomfort, and sometimes even deafness if left untreated. In the spiritual realm, a spiritual ear infection happens when people refuse to hear God’s Word, block their ears from truth, or dull their hearing to His voice. This condition is very dangerous because it keeps us from walking in obedience, faith, and intimacy with the Lord.
The Bible warns us about the seriousness of having “stopped ears” and shows examples of those who hardened themselves against God’s message.
🚫 Refusing to Hear God’s Word
Zechariah 7:11 (KJV)
“But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.”
The people of Israel deliberately stopped their ears so they would not hear God’s law through the prophets. This rebellion reveals that spiritual deafness is not always caused by ignorance—it is often a willful choice to resist God’s Word.
❌ Ignoring the Cry of Others
Proverbs 21:13 (KJV)
“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”
Blocking our ears to the needy is another form of spiritual deafness. When we ignore the cries of others, God warns that our own prayers will not be heard. This shows how our response to others directly affects God’s response to us.
😡 Resisting the Testimony of Truth
Acts 7:57 (KJV)
“Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord.”
The crowd that stoned Stephen was so enraged by the truth of his testimony that they literally stopped their ears and attacked him. This shows how deep rebellion can drive people to violently reject God’s truth rather than repent.
💤 Dull of Hearing
Matthew 13:15 (KJV)
“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Jesus explained that some people’s hearts and ears had grown so dull that they could not receive His Word. This spiritual deafness prevented them from being healed and restored.
🩺 What Causes Spiritual Ears to be Stopped Up?
Like an infection in the natural ear, certain conditions block our spiritual ears:
🕰 Neglecting God’s Word – Failing to read or meditate on Scripture causes spiritual dullness.
🙉 Willful Rebellion – Choosing sin and refusing correction closes the ear to truth.
💰 Greed and Selfishness – Ignoring the cry of the poor and focusing only on self blocks God’s voice.
🧩 Worldly Distractions – Being consumed with entertainment, success, or worries of life drowns out God’s whisper.
💔 Hardened Hearts – Bitterness, unforgiveness, and pride harden the heart, making the ears spiritually deaf.
💊 How to Cure Spiritually Stopped Ears
The good news is that God can heal our hearing if we turn to Him with humility.
📖 Hear God’s Word Daily – Romans 10:17 (KJV): “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
🙏 Pray for an Open Ear – Psalm 40:6 (KJV): “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.”
🧎 Walk in Obedience – James 1:22 (KJV): “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
🤲 Show Mercy to Others – Proverbs 19:17 (KJV): “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
🕊 Stay Sensitive to the Holy Spirit – Hebrews 3:15 (KJV): “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”
🔥 Conclusion
A spiritual ear infection is deadly if left untreated. Just as ignoring a natural ear infection can lead to permanent deafness, ignoring God’s Word can lead to eternal separation from Him. Let us examine our hearts and remove anything that causes us to stop our ears. Instead, may we have open ears, soft hearts, and obedient lives that are sensitive to the voice of the Lord.
Revelation 2:7 (KJV)
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
