And God Said

“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters,” Genesis 1:1-2, NIV.

“And God said” Genesis 1:3, :6, :9, :14, :20, :24, :26, :29.

“31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day,” Genesis 1:31, NIV.

While talking with a friend the other day, she said, “Think about this: when God spoke (Gen.1) who listened? The entire cosmos!” She might have been quoting from “The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction,” a book by Adam S. McHugh.

It sparked my gray matter—

Listening takes place only when someone is speaking. Both are needed to do something amazing—just look at our universe! When God spoke, it listened.

Speaking is something I’m very comfortable with, but listening has taken practice.

If I’m listening to learn I will hear differently than when I’m listening to speak again. One is to plan a response or even an attack, while the other waits to be inspired. This is what I callI defensive listening or competitive conversation, and I'm very familiar with it, a bit too familiar with it. (Yikes!)

Waiting to be inspired allows the listener to participate with a gentle give-and-take of ideas, truth, opinions, and feelings, and it inspires the creative flow that comes from one’s imagination. Because listening occurs—

Conversation happens,

And

Relationships are strengthened,

And 

Love is practiced.

Listening also aids to spark those wonderful “Aha moments" that reveal how we have seen and tasted God’s goodness to us. These conversations encourage us to desire more from God and to know more of God. 

It did for me. I wouldn’t have been able to write this devotional if I hadn’t had a conversation with a friend and listened to her. She shared, I shared, and we both learned and grew as a result. 

And it was good.

How is your hearing today? Are you listening to learn or listening to have a clever retort?

Speak, Father. Your children are listening.

Help us to listen to be inspired and not to argue back. Help us to respond as Your creation did throughout Genesis 1 with a “Yes.”

Help us to love the person who stands before us speaking more than we love our planned responses.

Help us to be ready to hear without being defensive. 

Forgive us when we are slow to hear due to our pride.

Thank You for our families who give us plenty of opportunities to practice. Thank You for our friends who are gracious to listen and forgive our monologues or defensive stance. 

Thank You for Your Spirit.

Please teach us to hear His voice above our own.

Amen.