Rhythms: The Lost Art of Listening

For the next minute try just close your eyes and listen.  Try to only focus on what you are able to hear for the next 60 seconds….Ready…Go.

….15….

….30….

….45….

Okay….What did you hear?  Did you hear anything that surprised you?

How often do you think you just sit and listen to the world around you?  If you are like most people it is probably pretty rare.  Most of us are consumed with doing and speaking so much that we rarely take time to pause and just observe.  Even our conversations can become so much about what we are trying to unload on others that we never actually listen to what they might be trying to communicate.

This last rhythm for being a Jesus follower is the practice of listening.

Listening is a great art form often lost in our culture.  Our hope is that the church can restore this practice.  (God knows there are many times that those who represent the church in our world would have served her better if they had just remained silent...ourselves included.)

In the story of God we see His compassion at work when he is listening to those enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 3).  We see His justice at work when we see Him closing His ears to those who prefer their religious activities over love for their neighbor (Isaiah 1).  We even see His love expressed through a Son who listens to those who are in need all around Him (John 4).

So what did you hear when you took time to listen?  When you first pause you often hear the things you would expect (people talking, appliances running, traffic outside, etc.) but as you listen deeper you will begin to hear things beneath the surface.

Here is your challenge: In the next conversation you have today, try to listen for at least a minute to what the other person has to share before you offer your thoughts.  You may even have to ask questions about what they are saying to make it work.

As you take time to listen today may you learn to listen to people and needs beneath the surface and how God might enable you to serve others this week.

Image Credit: http://bit.ly/M93DLZ