TWO EARS, ONE MOUTH... Sunday

Devotional for July 21, 2013

There was a little girl who loved to talk.  She sometimes would chatter away without even thinking of whether anyone was listening or cared about what she had to say.  She was just bubbling over with stories to tell, things to announce, news to report.  There was excitement in her voice that built with each piece of information she shared.

Sometimes her mother would become exasperated with her daughter's jabber.  When the mom could no longer ignore the incessant clamor, she would stop her daughter by giving her a chore to do or suggest a book to read.  One day she said to her daughter, "Do you know why God gave us two ears and one mouth?  So that we could listen twice as much as we speak."

That message may have gone right over the little girl's head, but I think we know what the mom meant.  There may be times we are like that with others, excited to talk about everything going on in our lives, but not taking into consideration whether our "audience" is listening or interested. More importantly, sometimes we forget to listen to what other people have to say, perhaps because we feel what we have to say is more important, more correct, or more exciting.  Actively listening to what others have to say actually gives us a better chance of being truly heard when we speak.

Perhaps we also treat God that way.  We constantly come to him with requests or complaints, asking in prayer for things to be done the way we think they ought to be done, etc. without stopping to listen to what God has to say.  Praying is when we speak to God; meditation is when we listen to God.  Many don't even know how to meditate or attend to God's messages.  One way is through studying his written word, the Bible.  If we read and truly try to digest what it says, especially with guidance from those who have studied it in depth, we can hear God speak to us.  Sometimes it is reading a Bible verse and then sitting quietly to reflect on it.  Other people choose to play spiritual music and contemplate on God's desire for their lives.  There is no one right way to meditate.  It generally involves clearing our minds of distracting things, and listening to what God has to say.  Maybe we need to remember that God gave us two ears and one mouth, and we can try to listen twice as much as speaking to him this week.  We might find a new perspective on things!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

written by Jan Andersen