“But you have God-blessed eyes–eyes that see! And God-blessed ears–ears that hear!” (Matthew 13:16, The Message)
If you have a smart phone, you may (probably?) have utilized a digital personal assistant. For iPhone users, that assistant is Siri and I think there are various apps that Android users can download for the same effect. I recently bought a new iPhone and all I have to do is say, “Hey, Siri” and Siri comes on, ready to answer my question. I was trying to get a phone number today and Siri found it for me, but for some reason wouldn’t make the call and then Siri misheard my follow-up instructions me and I exclaimed, “But I didn’t say that!” but Siri thought I said (I really am not making this up), “F*** you.” And then Siri chastised me for swearing. Clearly, Siri and I were having communication problems.
I read somewhere recently that one of the biggest challenges of having a conversation with another person is that neither of you is truly listening. One may be letting his mind wander while the other may be formulating a response in her head and maybe listens to about half of what was actually said. I know I’ve been guilty of both. There have been many calls for Americans to listen to one another in the past couple of weeks, but I haven’t read too many articles about how hard it is to listen. Truly listen. And listening to God is even more of a challenge what with our brains on overdrive for much of the day.
There are numerous ways for us to listen to what God might be saying to us (reading Scripture, listening to music, going for a walk, sitting in silence, talking with a trusted friend), but the first task is to actually carve out the time to do so. We schedule many things into our smart phones, what would it look like for you to literally type “God” into your daily calendar? And then keep that appointment. Start with a few minutes and gradually add a few more. Try this exercise to get you started. I guarantee you there will be some miscommunication. Unlike Siri, though, I believe God will be patient and will actually hear what’s in your heart.