“Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;
collect my counsels and guard them with your life.
Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;
set your heart on a life of Understanding.
That’s right—if you make Insight your priority,
and won’t take no for an answer,
Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold,
like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,
Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours;
you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1-5 MSG)
REFLECTION
According to Wikipedia, active listening is “listening to understand”.
Communing with our Maker and those He made is a two way experience, yet how often do we actually pay attention and truly listen to understand (as opposed to tuning out or thinking about how we are going to respond)?
During my daily time of prayer and pondering God’s Word, I usually say: “Lord, I’m listening …” and then simply remain quiet and attentive for a while, and trust God to speak to my heart. And as the day unfolds, I try to stay open to the Holy Spirit, receptive to whatever He wants to reveal to me / clarify / confirm ~ be it through people, circumstances / situations, nature, a deep knowing etc.
As we stay prayerful and mindful of God’s Word, we can trust that He will direct / correct us and lead us into all truth, in His higher way and timing.
PRAYER POEM
Loving Lord, only You know the depth of each story and only You can enable us to live in a way that brings You glory. Help me to lean in and truly listen to You and promptly obey, come what may.
