Hearing or Truly Listening
By Shauna Leis
“The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
John 10:2-3
One of the most rewarding things I have found in life is being a parent. Children are such a blessing from God, and I thank Him every day for the ones He has given me. They have taught me so many things over the years, but they have especially taught me patience in learning how to discipline them when they have done wrong. And probably one of the areas that we focus on over and over again is actually listening to what we are telling them to do, versus just hearing our words and never doing a thing about it.
I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to say, “Do you hear me?” and my kids can repeat verbatim what I have just said but have no intention of actually doing anything about it. My new tactic now is to say, “Are you actually listening to me?” and then ask what they are going to do once they have listened to my words. You see, there is a big difference between just hearing a sound and truly listening to what the speaker is saying in order to take action against it.
Webster’s definition of the word “listen” is to “hear something with thoughtful attention; to give consideration, to be alert to catch a potential sound.” True listening involves action on the part of the listener. However, hearing is defined as “gaining information, or receiving communication.” Hearing does not really require us to take action; it just gives us knowledge. Hearing tends to be more passive communication, while listening requires a much more proactive approach.
When we are talking about communicating with God, my prayer is that God is truly listening to me and what I am telling Him. I hope that He is not just “hearing” the words coming out of my mouth but is planning to actually take action once He listens to what I have to say in accordance with His plan. The psalmist felt much the same as I do in Psalm 61:1-2 when he called out to God. “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” The psalmist wanted God to “hear” him when he cried, but when it came to his prayer, he really wanted God to “listen” instead of just hearing. He was hoping that God would take action after listening to what he had to say.
God feels much the same way about us. He wants us to hear Him when He speaks to us, but when it comes to His Word, He longs for us to truly listen. James 1:19-20 indicates, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” Did you notice what James was saying here? He did not say that he wanted people to be quick to hear because most of us are pretty quick to hear already. We notice sounds and hear what is going on around us. What God longs for us to do is to be very quick to listen attentively, with the intention of taking action after listening. And, He wants us to be very slow to speak. Therein lies the requirement to be quick to listen. A speaker I once listened to said, “That is the reason why we have two ears and only one mouth.” We should be listening twice as much as we are speaking.
In the Gospel of John and the verses above, God wants us to be listening to Him so much that we know His voice above all the others. Just like sheep that listen to the shepherd over and over; they know his voice and listen to it. When God speaks to us over and over, and we actually listen to Him, we start to know Him above the other voices that try to speak to us from the crowd. Thankfully, when we listen to God, we will never go wrong, and we will never be led astray. God is so incredibly faithful to us and will lead us in the right direction.
James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” God wants us to listen to His Word and then to follow it through to completion. He desires for us to take action so His Word is spread throughout the world. Are we ready to be active listeners to God instead of just hearing Him? Are we willing to take action after listening to Him and what He is asking us to do with this information?
Pray with me: Precious God, we know that You listen to us every day that we speak to You. You are incredibly faithful to us. Help us to be active listeners to You and to Your Word. We want to go past just hearing the words that You speak and move into active listening. We want to be prepared to take action after listening so we can be of use to You in Your kingdom. Lord, that is our ultimate desire, to be used by You. God, we love You so very much and pray all of this in the name above all names, Jesus Christ! Amen.