Hearing God

I fellow staff member of Palomar Heights Church, where I served in Southern California before moving to Culpeper, had strained his voice. He was our worship pastor, so his voice was important! After seeking help from a doctor, he was told to go without talking for an entire week. Can you imagine not talking for a week?!

After the week was over, he told several of us that God used that time in incredible ways in his life. His ability to listen became accentuated, and he heard more that week than he had in a long time.

I wonder how good our hearing is. I mean, if we're so busy talking, then how much are we really listening for God's voice? Taking a vow of silence is an impractical thing to do in our society today, especially if you have a job as a telephone operator or teacher or a radio news broadcaster. On the other hand, there is something to be said for silence.

In our prayer lives, how much time do we spend talking and how much time doe we spend listening? Isn't prayer supposed to be a dialogue, not a monologue? What would happen if we turned off our mp3 player, iTunes and the TV and just enjoyed the silence? How comfortable are you with silence? What would happen if we simply disciplined ourselves to talk less and listen more.

Here are some practical tips to try during your day:
-Take the time to listen to someone's entire story/explanation/etc. and don't interrupt them. Make sure the person is finished before you try and begin speaking.
-Instead of thinking about what you want to say next, actually listen to what is being said to you.
-Before approaching someone with a question, direction or conversation, think about what you want to say before you say it. Try to make your point in as concise way as possible, using less words.
-In your prayer life, lift up a prayer request, ask God to respond back to you and take a few moments to simply sit in silence, listening for God's response. You may just hear Him!