Listen

Often, when we talk about prayer, we talk about the importance of listening while we pray. I don't know about you, but, for me listening is one of the most difficult aspects of prayer. By the time I get done praising God for who He is, confessing/repenting of my sins, offering up all kinds of requests, and thanking God for listening, I hardly have the energy or focus to listen.

I think I probably need to set aside some time simply to listen to what God is trying to say to me. Often, I'll read a passage of Scripture and quickly say, "God, what are you trying to say to me through this passage?" Then, I'll rapidly move on to my next "task" for the morning. Or I'll be praying and attempt to listen, but I must have ADD or something because I often stop listening within a few seconds of starting to listen. I guess I just assume that if God wants to say something to me, He'll get my attention. In all honesty, I guess that's just laziness on my part. I'm too lazy to listen. Sometimes we cover up our laziness with busy-ness. You know what I mean? We look really busy...but, in reality, we're avoiding things that we aren't disciplined enough to do..."I can't really take time to listen right now because I've got to get dinner ready, I've got an appointment, I've got to make a phone call, I've got to ______."

This morning, the importance of listening is on my mind. I guess it came up during my morning prayer time...as I realized my lack of listening...and as I read the following statement:

"In the silence of my innermost being, in the fragments of my yearned-for wholeness, can I hear the whispers of God's presence?

I'm struck by a couple of things here...a) Do I quiet myself enough (in a given day, let alone ever) to hear God's whispers? b) the whole thought of yearning for wholeness...it just strikes me...we're all looking for wholeness...some of us look for it in different ways...I've found the only healthy way to pursue wholeness is to pursue Christ.