Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
One of my biggest social struggles is not monopolizing conversations. It's not that I don't love to listen to other people. In fact, I really love listening to other people. It's just that oftentimes I love talking even more. I just feel like I have so many thoughts that I want to share with others that it's really hard for me to hold those back, but that sort of one-way street in communication doesn't make for a very good conversation, and over time, it makes for even worse relationships.
See, good relationships have healthy two-way communication. Over the years, I've really practiced coming up with healthy conversational rhythms, a pattern of sharing my thoughts, but then sitting back with listening ears to genuinely hear what other people want to say to me. It's this sort of practice that we should implement in our spiritual lives when it comes to how we talk with God.
Our Verse of the Day today is Psalm chapter 5 verse 3. It says:
Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly.
The Balance of Speaking and Listening
At first, this Psalm might come off a little bit demanding. Lord, listen to my requests in the morning. It's almost asking God with this force to open His ears to hear what we have to say, because all we want to do is talk at Him. Sometimes, that may be how we approach God. What we read in the second half of this Psalm is really important for us when it comes to building up this conversational rhythm.
We not only hear David say to the Lord to listen to his voice in the morning, but he attaches this very important concept to the back end of it. He says, "for I wait expectantly." How often are we bringing our requests to God, asking Him to listen, but then taking the time to wait expectantly? I know for me, it can be really easy to wake up in the morning and to pray all the things that are on my mind, all the things that I'm anxious about for the day, and then just go about my business, expecting the Lord to solve all my problems while I'm hardly even paying attention to Him.
What David reminds us here is that for as often as we come to the Lord to talk with Him in prayer, we also need to be sitting down in a quiet space, in a quiet moment, having listening ears to hear what He wants to share with us. Because this is the healthy sort of communication that God wants to have with us.
Three Keys to Conversational Prayer
As we invite Him to move into our lives for these moments, here are a couple of pointers that I want to encourage us to keep in mind as we build this conversational life with God.
The first is that before we can expect God to move around us, He wants to move in us. So often do we come to God as this cosmic vending machine, just making our requests, demanding change. God is after our hearts and He wants to see that changed first, so that then as He moves around us, our focus remains on Him, reminding us that everything is about His glory for our good.
The second thing is, remember that when you're listening to God, listen to learn. Don't just listen for the things that you want to hear. I'm sure you guys have had a conversation with somebody who says what they want to say, and then they eagerly wait for you to stop talking just so that they can share their next thing. It convicts me how often I probably go to God like this. I share something that's on my mind, and then, rather than listening to learn from Him, I'm only listening for the things that I want to hear, ignoring the things that He wants to share with me. Open up your heart and your mind to hear God's genuine voice responding to your prayers.
Lastly, remember to keep a consistent line of communication. David doesn't say he only prays when he needs to. He doesn't only pray when he's in a bind or he's in a panic. Every morning he's coming to God and all day long he is waiting expectantly.
Let's go to God. Let's share what's on our hearts, but then let's learn to listen. God wants to speak to each and every one of us.
