Listening for WisdomSample

Hearing Versus Listening

Think about a time when you were trying to tell someone something, and they were not listening. When we look at the Scriptures, we see that often the disciples seemed to lack listening skills. They might have heard Jesus, but they weren’t really listening. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. To hear someone or something is to detect a sound with our ears. It is a passive activity, and we can hear something without concentrating on it. Listening, on the other hand, is active. It means we are paying attention and seeking to understand, and it requires a concerted effort.

In Mark 4:24-25 Jesus emphasizes listening: “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them” (Mark 4:24-25, NLT).

Listening requires actively engaging with someone or with a text. In Scripture reading, we must listen with a desire to understand. This is a huge part of spiritual growth.

Recently, I have been struggling a lot with listening. My mind feels bogged down by so many details that I find it hard to concentrate. I have asked the Lord to give me the desire and heart to really listen to the people in my life and to renew my listening skills with him. Remember the parable of the sowers? In one soil, the Word of God did not take root because there were too many cares bogging it down and concerns choking the Word from taking root. “And the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." (Mark 4:19-20, NKJV)

Similarly, do you remember Mary and Martha in the Bible? Martha also had many cares that kept her from being a good listener.

In the story of Mary and Martha, Martha gets a bad rap. But Jesus never chastised her; instead, he calmed her worries and fears, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41, ESV).

Many of us see Jesus as scolding Martha for her lack of margin, but what if we instead saw it as an invitation to quiet her anxious thoughts, sit in God’s presence, and really listen to him? Martha had been caught up doing good things, but now he is inviting her to something even better—to sit at his feet.

Are you letting other people’s expectations speak louder over your life than the Lord’s desire for you?

Oh, weary heart, God is inviting you to sit in his presence, to rest. Maybe today, you need to let go of outside pressure and demands and sit at his feet. Accept Christ’s invitation to listen.