Most people would agree that listening is an important skill; most of us aren’t all that good at it. It’s hard to communicate when all of the communication goes only one way!
I’m not talking about listening to other people, however; I’m talking about communicating with God.
To be entirely accurate, most of us don’t spend much time in prayer talking to God… we’re busy people after all. For those who do take the time to speak with God, do we ever give Him a chance to contribute to the communication?
Probably not.
You know, there is that “still small voice” people sometimes talk about; can you ever hear it?
Boy, it sure is tough to hear if we’re always doing the talking! Maybe there are times when we are with God that we should just be still for a while and see what happens… Can we spare the time?
Life Project Blog 
A while back I mentioned silence as companionable, and “Keith” mentioned the “body language” of being with the lord. Never quite “got that”, and then your words today. Realised I hear with “body language” as well as words – and this realisation I take as listening. A sense, a feeling, other people’s words (like Keith and you combined), a picture – loads of different ways. Yet it is the “awareness” that makes it listening (ask my wife about my awareness!). It is the awareness that makes it communication. Thank you!
Yes, i think that’s right. Awareness is the key, for waiting for a literal sound may take a long time, but “awareness” comes around quite a lot if we are paying attention. Thanks for that, Paul!
LIstening is during prayer time is crucial. One way I remind myself to take time to listen is by using my hand. Each of my fingers represents something I want to talk to God about – thumb represents telling God how much I love Him, index finger represents thanking God for all He has done, middle finger represents forgiveness and seeking forgiveness for all the things i have done that need forgiveness, ring finger is prayers for others and pinky is prayers for myself. All of these fingers, when you make a fist, fit inside the palm of your hand. The palm represents the amount of time spent listening to God. Hope this had prayer helps someone. Blessings!
That’s a cool idea, thanks Shelly
Your post reminded me of a great analogy I read in Streams in the Desert… You can only see your reflection in the water if there are no ripples, if it is completely still. It is when we are still that we can see and hear Him most clearly. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for sharing that!
I believe we are (most) all very guilty of this “one sided” prayer life. It’s good to be reminded of the need to listen, not just speak, in our time with The Lord.
Thanks Greg!
Listening is difficult because one is always talking…
Yes, unless we can learn to be still for a bit… easier said than done!
It takes a kind of patience to stop and listen to that small voice. Most people don’t listen because they’re waiting on some sort of sign.
Great point! Looking for thunder and lightning, I missed the point entirely! Yes, we’ve probably all done that at one time or another, thanks!
Boy this is some good stuff.
I appreciate it, thanks!
🙂
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