I lead a lot of day retreats that have at the heart of them a number of hours to be alone and quiet in listening prayer. I led one on Friday. Earlier this year, one participant shared a conversation she had with a pastor who suggested that “There is no biblical precedent for listening prayer.” I found that an interesting comment. Below are some “bullets” of initial response I journaled later that day:
- The whole of the scriptures are an extended story of conversation after conversation between God and people. Such a conversation obviously involves listening as well as speaking. Why would we expect things to be different in our era when we believe that God is now fulfilling everything the scriptures have been about? Why should we resist the expectation that God would speak today?
- If there is no listening to God’s voice, there is no real need for the biblical practice of discernment.
- We theologize away gifts of the Spirit that imply hearing God’s voice. Is this really biblical, or might it actually be an argument from lack of experience?
- Ecclesiastes 5 speaks of drawing near to listen to God.
- Why do we translate biblical occasions of the word “listen” into the practical equivalent of “read” (i.e. “The Bible”)? The scriptures speak of both reading and listening.
- To make ourselves comfortable that listening to God is a misguided idea, we highlight the weirdest, most distorted stories we can find of people hearing and trusting weird things that they attribute to God.
- Jesus said he only spoke the words the Father said. How did He know what those words were if He did not hear them from the Father, presumably in prayer? Is it not possible (likely?) that part of our following Jesus involves expecting something similar in our own experience?
- There are those who would say that we have the scriptures, so we don’t need God’s voice today. Why do we think this? Do we not see God speaking even in the book of Acts? Do we not see evidence of God’s voice in the church fathers? Seasons when the word (read “voice”) of God was rare were not good seasons for the people of God, but times of great distance from God. Why would we think this different today?
- Even some who don’t believe in listening prayer will seek to authorize a decision or action by speaking of “feeling led.” How does one discern this “being led” apart from some variety of listening?
- Even with all the misguided stuff that was going on at Corinth in terms of their “hearing God’s voice” and such, Paul never urges them to stop listening or stop practicing certain spiritual gifts, but rather gives strong direction for how to do so properly and rightly.
- What human-to-human relationship ever comes to a point where conversation is no longer needed? Why do we expect that our relationship with God would come to such a point (as in a theology of God’s ceasing to speak to His people)?
- Without some sense of the voice of God, even in our engagement with scripture, I don’t see how you don’t end up with the Christian life as mostly knowing about God rather than knowing God Himself and personally.
- Without some element of the mystery of hearing God’s voice, I don’t know how knowledge does not eventually puff a person up instead of building them up.
I’d be grateful for your interaction here. What has been your experience of listening to God? Positive ones? Negative ones?
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Thanks Alan for this. I am completely in agreement with you. I read The Unhurried Life during a program I was in for training Spiritual Directors. I loved it. I was wondering if you know how the woman responded to the pastor. We do get this response some times when talking about Listening Prayer. (We do this at our retreat center cfrbarn.org and I have written about it in my book “Listening to God Together.”) Having a concise response would help. You have so many good points I would love to condense them down to one or two sentences. Something like:
I often wonder what Jesus did during during his long times alone with His Father. Did he do all the talking? When he wasn’t talking was he doing Listening Prayer?
I know this is an old blog entry – but perhaps you could weigh in with some suggestions of how you would answer that pastor in a short and consise way.
Bob – I think you’re question about what Jesus might have done when he withdrew to pray is useful. I usually suggest that we not get stuck on language. “Listening prayer” may push certain buttons. I would simply ask, “Do you see people listening to God in the Bible? Might we not follow their example today?” It sounds like you have some good wisdom for those who ask you. Grace!
Very well said. I did not find this teaching in the local church.This is my prayer: To practice the presence of God everyday. Many saints throughout the history of the Church have moved beyond the knowledge about God to the relational experience of God and some have written about it. Reading Dallas Willard’s book Hearing God made me aware of the many ways the Lord speaks to us and is always speaking to us we are just not always listening.
Great to hear from you, Ralph. Like you, much of what I’ve learned about listening to God did not come in the context of the local church. Dallas’s book was one of the resources that helped me as well.
Alan, which book by Dallas are you thinking of here? I haven’t read his books. If I want to read a classic or two of his which ones would you recommend? Regards, Anthony.
I’m thinking especially of “Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God.” I also love “Renovation of the Heart”
Excellent post!
A few years ago I was having ministry business cards made. I had picked everything out that I wanted to put on the cards, when suddenly I realized I had forgotten to ask the Lord what scripture he wanted placed on them. I excused myself walking to a quiet place and asked the question. I heard John 16: 13. By faith I returned back to the counter and asked the printer to add the scripture. When I returned home and opened my Bible, this is what the Lord said: ” But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what he hears,( The Father & Son say) and he will tell you what is yet to come. It raises the question; Why would the Father give the Spirit something to say if know one is required to listen?
Judy Loughrey
Covenant Restoration Ministry
Thanks, Judy, for that great story. I love that John 16 text. What a gift to realize that God really does desire to mentor us through the ministry of the Spirit. I really appreciate your taking time to respond to this post. Very encouraging…
Good points, I find I am a listener as my preference for communication, so this post struck home because I think we are finally getting it that we have to listen to what God is saying in order to join in with what God is doing. I went on a 3 day silent retreat a few years back and it changed my perspective on prayer. It is very hard to listen! Great Post!
Thank you. I’ve often said that I took many courses in seminary on speaking, but didn’t have a single one on listening. And nothing like a silent retreat to press us more deeply into that receptive, listening posture before God. Thanks for your note.