Just Listen!

Romans 12:² “Don’t be so conformed to culture that you fit into it without thinking. Instead, let God transform you by changing the way you think.” (MSG/NLT)

Yesterday, we established that listening is a language of love, listening validates people, and listening communicates value. You must learn to listen, just listen. For a lot of us, our parents sent us away when we initiated conversations with them. And because of how we were brought up, we find it difficult to listen to our children. You need to change that kind of parenting and listen to your children. If you do not listen to them, someone outside will and that can be very dangerous. In fact, before we got saved, the girls that were the most vulnerable were the girls with ‘daddy issues’. It was very easy to scan through a room and pick them out. Not listening to your children makes them vulnerable and easy targets for people with the wrong motives.

Is it going to be easy? In my experience, no because I chose to listen until they are done talking. So, how am I able to do it? I pray for the grace to be able to do it consistently because they are important to me. Your spouse, your children, your boss, your customers are important to you, so you have to listen. A lot of people have children that are grown up and they do not even know who they are. And the reason is the parents were too distracted to listen to their children. In fact, they have brought distractions home to us in the form of smart watches. So, you do not only get notifications on your phone, but it also flashes on your wristwatch. And every time you get a notification, you feel compelled as if you are under the obligation of the law to respond. Does it happen to you or is it only me?

A lot of people cannot even pray anymore or have a sustained presence in prayer. It is because as soon as they start praying, the phone beeps, so they check it – distraction. It is a problem; people are becoming spiritually shallow because they are too distracted. What we are doing is putting more value on the unknown notifications because the truth is we do not even know what the notification is about. So we are putting more value on the unknown when the known is right before us, the people we care about. Do you know that statistics show that over ninety-eight percent (98%) of all those notifications can wait? So, when next you are talking to your spouse, to your child, and the phone beeps, ignore it because it can wait.

When I am in counselling, over ninety percent (90%) of the time, my phone is on silent and turned face down because I do not want to get distracted. Sometimes, the person I am having a conversation with is the one who would say, your phone is ringing, or you just got a message. My response, without looking at the phone is, it can wait. How do you think they feel? Valued.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to consistently listen to my spouse, my children, and the people I do life with, with all my heart, in Jesus Name. Amen!