“Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens.”  1 Samuel 3

“This is My Beloved Son, Listen to Him.”  The Transfiguration of Jesus

“God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we talk.”  Mom

When was the last time you listened?  I mean REALLY listened.  Not only with your ears, but with your heart?

Maybe it was sitting by a bubbling creek or walking through a forest or a glade.  Or perhaps while enjoying a cup of coffee in the early morning quiet.  Maybe you were in a church service or spending time in centering prayer.  Hopefully it was when sitting with a friend who was pouring out their heart and just needed someone to listen.  Wherever it was, when was the last time you REALLY listened?

Listening is a highly undervalued, greatly unappreciated, and grossly under practiced skill.  It is safe to say that in our culture it is a lost art.  We are surrounded, yes, assaulted by such intense and relentless noise that we “tune out” to the messages that really matter.  Sometimes those messages are from God.  Sometimes from other people.  Often-times those are the same thing; by listening to others we are listening to God.

Cultivating and creating an atmosphere of silence gives us the opportunity to just listen.  And it is only by listening that we can determine and discern what God is saying to us.

It’s significant that in the passage from 1 Samuel God comes to the boy Samuel three times.  And finally, after instruction from Eli, Samuel recognizes the need to listen to God.  As a result, Samuel is able to carry out his prophetic duties by listening carefully to God, and then conveying that message to others.

And in the account of the Transfiguration the instruction that God gives Peter, James and John is just to listen to Jesus.  Note, what God DOESN’T say:  “Worship Him; Serve Him; Follow Him; Sacrifice to Him; etc.”  God says LISTEN.

This is the primary calling of every person: to listen to God, and to others.

People want, yes need, to be listened to.  People, especially those who are struggling, don’t want someone to give advice, or to try and fix, or quote bible passages to them.  People want to be listened to.  That’s what we want.  That’s what I want.

When I was experiencing my personal dark times, I longed for someone to just sit with me and listen.  Unfortunately, there really weren’t many who were willing to do so. 

To be a good listener, three things are essential:  To be silent, to make time, and to be found trustworthy by the person we are listening to.

Imagine slowing down, becoming aware of the voices in your dreams, your unexpected encounters.  Practice listening—to your friends, your children, music, the wind, your dreams, the ancient wisdom of sacred texts.  Listen as though your life depended on it.  It does. “The Art of Pilgrimage”, Phil Cousineau