GOD STILL SPEAKS TO US BUT WE DON’T LISTEN (1)
Every day, every time, everywhere, God speaks to us.
But most times our minds are so occupied thinking about what to eat, the next weave-on and clothe to buy, the next trip to embark on, how to make money, the ‘Black Panther’ movie we just watched and others.
We flood our minds with a lot of things (our worries, challenges, questions) that we hardly hear when our Father speaks to us.
Which Father won’t want to speak to his child always, directly or indirectly?
My earthly father here, grabs every opportunity he gets to talk to us and in turn, we create time to listen to him and not just hear him.
Over the years, my siblings and I have grown from having our dad lecture us to having a proper conversation with him.
Yes, we are all busy. So everyone says, but how much of your time do you give to Him? Out of 24 hours, 7 days in a week?
“We only create time for what and who we value”
Intentionally make out time to have a proper conversation with your Heavenly Father.
CONVERSATION is the key word, not a lecture or monologue.
Difference?
In a conversation, both parties are heard, both parties are given the opportunity to talk.
In a lecture, only one person does most or all of the talking.
If it has to be a lecture, then ensure you are His (God's) student and He (God)is the lecturer.
We need to discipline our flesh and our tongue.
“Remember, be slow to speak and quick to listen”
Humble yourself to just go into His presence to listen.
Trust me, this is difficult.
How is it difficult, you may ask?
Our flesh always wants to be in control. We always want to be heard because we feel that what we have to say is more important than what the other person has to say.
It took a lot of time for me to consciously learn the art of active listening not passive hearing. I am still in the learning process though.
Most of us just keep quiet when the other person is talking not because we are actually listening or paying close attention to what he/she is saying but just because we want him/her to be done with the talk so that we could drop our ‘important’ speech/opinion and prove a POINT.
Listen! Listen!! Listen!!! (in a gentle voice), my dear friend will always say to me.
And then at the end of each conversation, I am asked to explain what I understood.
All of a sudden, I will go blank.
Not because I am unintelligent or lack a retentive memory, but simply because I wasn’t listening to understand, I was rather listening to reply.
We need to relax!
We don’t always have to be heard.
Sometimes, we have to consciously discipline ourselves to engage in active listening to understand the other person better.
This is necessary for our growth.
A SEQUEL TO THIS ARTICLE WILL BE UP SOON.
