Devotions from Trevor Hudson’s book, Discovering our Spiritual Identity

God who loves us is a God who listens and hear our cries, even to those groans we can’t put into words. Listening is one of the most precious gifts we can give to someone we love. We all feel valued for who we are and recognized as a unique human being when we are truly listened to. When we really listen to others we are saying we care and we respect their uniqueness and how they feel. When we make the effort to listen it involves 3 things: respectful silence, total attention, and appropriate response. We need to restrain ourselves from interrupting and become quiet inside. Without concentrating on what someone is saying, genuine listening is probably not happening. Without indicating some understanding of what is being said and felt in our verbal response, the person may not feel listened to. Empathetic listening is not easy and we need uninterrupted time together. For couples it is good to go on a weekly date to have time alone. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because Christians are talking when they should be listening. “