The Gift of Active Listening

The following is something I share with those involved in personal evangelism. It is also very important in Christian relationships. I don’t know who wrote it but it’s worth sharing.

“Active listening is something we can give each other as a spiritual gift. In active listening we try to find out such things as how the world feels inside the skin of the other person, how life tastes in his mouth, what smells attract or repulse him or her; we want to know why what he is saying is so important to him.

“In listening actively we suspend our self-centered thoughts - our joys, our problems, our brilliant insights; for a brief time we love another person enough to let him or her be the sole object of our attention.

“We listen to the person for the moment; we don’t judge, criticize, correct or make over, advise, object, or interrupt, whoever it is - parent, brother, sister, child, teacher, policeman, friend, enemy - we accept him or her as is and listen carefully to find out who the person is.

“We listen for his meaning behind the words which may be confusing. This person’s fears may seem silly, but they don’t seem silly to him or her. We listen to find out why he or she fears. Sometimes his talk seems like nonsense, but it makes sense to him. Until we can see how and why it makes sense to him, we fail to hear and understand what the person is saying. LISTEN!”

Isn’t this exactly how we want others listening to us? And isn’t this exactly what we want God to do when we go to Him in prayer? We ask Him to listen to us. Let’s practice doing the same for those we love and want to influence for Christ. I’ve learned a few phrases in Polish. I’ve learned how to say “Good day.” Then I learned the phrase for “How are you?” and tried using it a few times. However, it was explained to me that if you use the phrase for “How are you?” you should be willing to really listen to the person tell you how they are. How often in our language do we say, “How are you?” without really wanting to listen to someone? Let’s listen to each other.

Jesus frequently said, “He that has ears to hear, let Him hear.” I know he was referring to listening to what He was saying, but it is also important for us to listen to each other to be able to know one another better.

See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.

Love, Tony