Have you ever been having a conversation with someone and you just have that feeling that they are not really listening to what you are saying? They are nodding their head and making agreeable noises, but their mind is somewhere else entirely. Or perhaps you have been the one who finds themselves not quite giving someone your full, undivided attention. Your mind has slipped into thinking about what to cook for dinner and then there is a pause in the conversation, and you know you have to say something, but have no idea at all what the other person has just said? It’s a little embarrassing isn’t it? But we all do it. Sometimes our minds just have… well… a “mind of their own” don’t they.

Have you ever watched two people having an animated conversation? have you ever witnessed how chaotic the conversation is? neither one is actually listening to the other, they are only taking in enough information to allow them to then think about what they are going to say next, and vice versa. Neither person is actively and attentively listening to the other.

Have you ever wondered why it is that God gave us two ears and only one mouth? Perhaps we are meant to do twice as much listening as we are speaking. As James puts it in James 1 v 19 ‘let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.’

We live in a society where we are constantly bombarded with information, we are on constant overload, we have no need to wait for anything – we have instant downloads and can order something on Amazon and it arrives the next day. Everything is in a state of hurry, including our mouths.

I think we can find we do this in our relationship with God too, we can spend our prayer times reeling off a list of well meaning prayer requests, but do we actually spend enough time just being in His presence, listening?

I know I am guilty of all the above at times.

So, instead of giving you a list of items to pray for this week, I would urge you to just spend some time listening and waiting on God to speak.

Naomi Ackland – Office Coordinator for Swindon Youth for Christ.