Is Anyone Listening?

Most of us have experienced not being heard, maybe at a noisy sports event, a crowded restaurant, or a loud concert. But there is a different type of not being heard. I recall a meeting at work at which a group of us sat around a table to identify a solution to a problem. The company’s president asked each one what he or she would suggest. We went around the table one by one. I offered my suggestion, yet there was no response. Imagine my surprise when my suggestion was then repeated later by a colleague and immediately recognized as the best course of action.

I wanted to shout, “Is anyone listening to me?”

When we realize that we are not being heard, we feel unimportant, smaller, of less worth. We have each experienced it. We notice one looking past our shoulder during a conversation. We share an event in our life with someone who responds with their story of a similar experience, directing the conversation to them. And we all know the experience of participating in a conversation in which the other person is thinking about a response before we even finish our comments. I know this because I have done these same things to others.

We have lost the skill of listening to hurriedness, distraction, and self-centeredness. Too often, we believe we are listening when we are not.

God heard Hagar in the desert and Jonah in the big fish. He listened patiently to discouraged Elijah, disappointed Jeremiah, and despairing Job. Jesus listened too. He listened to the woman at the well, a confused Nicodemus, a hopeless man at Siloam’s pool, and the grieving sisters when they lost a brother.

God is listening. He is always completely attentive, listening to our words and the heart behind them. How am I at listening to Him. Am I distracted? Am I preparing what I want to say without quieting myself to hear Him. Am I looking beyond his shoulder?

How can we be present to others and listen like Jesus, letting silence fall in a conversation as they are reflecting? How can I tame my thoughts to focus on the person in front of me and to really listen?

How can I learn to hear the heart, and not just the words?