Isaiah 55:3 (CEB)

Listen and come to me;
    listen, and you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful loyalty to David.


Reflection

There are moments where listening can literally save your life.

Consider when the driver in the car next to you honks the horn to let you know that it’s definitely NOT safe to switch lanes. Or, when your significant other says, “Did you even hear a word that I just said?” These are moments when you’ve got to be careful.

Listening is essential to human relationships. We grow not by talking, but by listening. Listening is the thing that changes us.

It works the same way in our relationship with God. We can recite laundry lists of prayers every day, but does just saying the stuff we want to see happen in the world really change us?

Now, I’m NOT saying we give up on intercession for people in need, including ourselves. But what I AM saying is that prayer needs to incorporate silence as well as speaking – a time not just for us to talk to God, but for God to talk to us.

This is the kind of listening that can literally save our lives by redirecting us away from the things that rob us of our centeredness and calm. This is the kind of listening that can literally save our lives by helping us find freedom from worry and anxiety when the world around us is spinning faster than we can run.

This is the promise when we rest in the presence of the One who created us: “listen, and you will live.”

By Joe Monahan


For Pondering & Prayer

Today, take 2 minutes to sit quietly before God. Let your mind relax. If you have racing thoughts, don’t be troubled by them. But don’t follow them wherever they lead. Instead, try to notice them and then let them go. Tomorrow, try taking 3 minutes. And then 4. Keep doing this until you can get to, say, 10 minutes. Keep a journal of what you experience, especially of how you feel before and after each time with God.

Prayer: Today, I simply ask for the courage and patience to sit silently in your presence. Jesus, I pray you will join me here today. Amen.