The first words in the Bible speak of the cosmos hearing God’s spoken words and obeying: “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
At the heart of Israel’s prayer life is God’s call to listen in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The writers of the Psalms ask God to listen to them and then write how He hears them and acts. As God’s sheep, we hear His voice; because we listen, we follow Him.
So, yes, listening is important to God. It is vital to our relationship with Him and with others.
And also, our lives are full, so time to listen is hard to come by. Our hearts long to teach and correct – which are good and certainly have their place – but sometimes people just want to be heard. Our brains are so full of distractions about deadlines, upcoming events, and the logistics of our schedule that sometimes it’s hard to stay focused on what the person right in front of us is saying.
So if we want to become more and more like Christ, and Christ is someone who listens, how do we grow in this skill?
I can think of no one better to talk about how to listen than today’s guest, Becky Harling.
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