The Art of Communication
Week 47
1 Samuel 3:1-10
I haven’t always been a good listener. If I had been it may well have saved me from failures and heartaches. But when as a writer I was sent out by an editor to interview high profile entrepreneurs and to write about their businesses I learned very quickly the importance of listening carefully. If I got things wrong, it could easily backfire on me and the publication I was writing for. Now, after thirty years or so, I realise that the most important part of communicating is listening.
Imagine then my frustration when I was recently involved in a video meeting with six other people from around the world as we gathered to plot the course of a part of our business. It was an important meeting and time is of the essence in this particular matter. Unfortunately, one individual took over most of the ninety-minute meeting as he rambled on and on about unconnected issues and interrupted when anyone else tried to speak. The result was that I had to reconvene the meeting with two of the team in order to discuss matters that we were unable to raise earlier.
Communication is all about listening. There is never a more important time to remember this than when we are talking to our Heavenly Father. Prayer is a privilege, and the Bible is riddled with God’s instructions to listen to Him. In fact, the word “listen” appears 278 times throughout the Bible. All too often, however, we come with our own list of requests but fail to listen carefully to what God has to say – I know this because I have been guilty of it.
As our Heavenly Father, God wants us to go to him in prayer. He longs to hear from us. He longs also to direct our steps (Proverbs 16:9) and to enable us to stay on the path he has planned for us. He can`t do that if we are not listening to Him. We may have a long list of requests but He already knows our needs (Matthew 6:8) and we also have an advocate in heaven praying for us in the form of Jesus, God’s only son (1 John 2:1-2).
If you were invited to an audience with a high-ranking member of our earthly society like a Prime Minister or The King of a country, neither of whom knows you or loves you, you would probably say very little but simply listen. How much more then, should we listen to the creator of the universe, our Heavenly Father who loves us so much that he sent His only son to die for us.
There are times when I need to remind myself that it’s not all about me and to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) and to heed what He says, “I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words” (Deuteronomy 18:19).
Prayer: Father, thank you that you want us to talk to you. Listening to you sometimes doesn’t come easily to us when we are distracted by things going on around us. Please help us to set aside time to be still and really listen carefully to what you want to say to each one of us.
Neil Bromage, 12/11/2023