Listening

We have an activity in our church called "Love & Listen." I love the name (though I can't take credit for it) because it says so much in such a simple way. I was talking with a friend recently, and found myself giving him the same advice we use at Love & Listen.

Love is accepting someone for who they, where they are. There's room for improvement in all of us, but true love is meeting them where they are, like Jesus so often did. My favorite is the woman at the well in John 4 ~ He went to her because she needed Him to. He went to an unfriendly, or at least unacceptable place (Samaria) and spoke to a local woman (certainly beneath Him in the culture of the day) who was not the most upstanding citizen of the area, about things she could understand. He met her where she was, both figuratively and literally. No one was beneath His attention, whether leper or lame, Pharisee or unclean; He was willing to meet them where they were and share His love.

Listening is when you hear more than your own voice. If what you hear most is yourself, you're not listening. Counsellors are so successful because the patients do most of the talking. (Doesn't seem fair to charge for that, does it!) When you listen you find out about the person. You learn what is really going on underneath the surface stuff. You learn what they really need. When you listen you gain their trust, you show you care, and you demonstrate your love.

Listening to others helps you develop your 'listening to God' skills, too. I am comfortable in my prayer time in the silence. Even group prayer can have periods of quiet for me. It's the time when I can listen for God to talk to me. I must confess that I don't always like what I hear, but I love to hear any words from Him. Like a young child longing for parental attention, I long to hear God give me His attention. I can't hear Him when I'm doing all the talking. When I taught preschoolers, I always told them God gave them two ears and one mouth. They needed to listen twice as much as they spoke. I also pointed out that God also made us so our mouths and ears don't work at the same time. There is a time to speak and a time to listen ~ to others and to God.