By David ReayThursday 11 Apr 2019LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
Read James 1:19
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (NLT)
A question that was put to many of us in our younger days was, How many people have you spoken to about Christ this week? Always rather guilt-inducing! Nowadays, we might ask ourselves yet another question, How many people have we listened to in Christ this week? Again, not a comfortable question!
As our text reminds us, listening comes before speaking. Unless we have truly listened, we cannot truly speak. Our words will hit the wrong target and merely be expressions of our own thoughts rather than a response to another’s situation. This is not only true of human interaction but also of our relationship with God.
Listening to God via the means of his Spirit and his Word can better inform our prayers. Listening saves them from being mere shopping lists of egocentric requests. Listening aligns our own wills to his will so we better pray according to his will.
It is so disappointing to meet with people who don’t listen, who are simply using us to share their own opinions and feelings. How wonderful to discover someone who actually hears us and responds sensitively. We may well argue that the definition of a true friend, as opposed to a mere acquaintance, is that the friend really listens whereas the acquaintance just talks.
Blessings
David Reay