“Can you hear me, now?” asks the mobile phone technician in the series of TV commercials. Getting heard. That’s what we all want, right? We are flooded with messages in every media we encounter. Then we meet people, and they just want to say what’s on their mind. In politics, it seems that everyone wants their opinion heard–even if there is no tainting of the opinion by facts.
I have a fault–OK, lot’s of them. Sometimes I tell more than I need to in a conversation once I get started with a story. The other day I was talking to someone and by the time she’d talked to someone else and it eventually returned to me, the story was completely changed. It was like that old parlor game “telephone.”
But–who’s listening? Folklore holds that the famous baseball catcher and manager Yogi Berra said “You can hear a lot just by listening.”
The first thing about listening is acknowledging in your own mind that there is another person. Then you need to focus on that person. And treat what they say as important–indeed, the most important thing in the world at that moment.
I’m teaching from Daniel for a short time. I really like him. If I could pick interesting people with whom I’d like to spend an evening or a day in conversation, he’d be up at the top of my list. One thing he did–he listened to people and he listened to God. Even at one point where he was troubled and another where he was perplexed by what God said, he still listened.
David talked about Abraham and Sarah Sunday. There are two other people who listened to God. They didn’t always believe what He said. They were quite old and God maintained that he would eventually send a child–they didn’t believe Him any more. But it happened.
It’s time to polish up those listening skills. Pay attention to the next person you encounter. Remain open to God’s voice–and if he talks, please listen.
Faith Venture 
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