Talking and Listening

Warning-F-Bomb dropped at the 4:50 mark.

Psalm 83:1

O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

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I think you're trying to put me through some kind of test
I'm begging you baby won't you give it a rest
You talk about people that you don't even know
Keep it up baby I'm gonna pick up and blow

"You Talk Too Much" by George Thorogood

Sometimes, sometimes the reason we don't hear God's voice is that we're too busy flapping our lips to hear anything else. We pray God will not be silent but we don't let our Lord get a word in edgewise.

I know God is far more patient than the protagonist of this song. For this I'm thankful. I am glad God never tells us to give it a rest. I am glad that my (our?) incessant prayers will never cause the God of all creation to pick up and blow. But sometimes, don't you imagine God wants to tell us all to hush and listen for a moment?

I've never gotten that "word of the Lord" in so many words, but...

The Lord our God only wants what is best for us, but to receive what is best we must receive. If all we do is give our prayers we may never receive. Prayer is best a two-way street. We are called to offer our prayers to God. We need to offer thanksgiving. We need to praise God. We need to offer our petitions. We need to consecrate our very lives to the work of the kingdom. And to do all of this we need to listen at least as much as we speak.

There's an old saying, we are given one mouth and two ears so we should listen twice as much as we speak. That's not bad thinking. It's another way of saying we talk too much and need to listen more. This means we need to take the time to listen, truly listen to what the Word of the Lord has in store for us always.

Yes, we need to pray, we even need to use words when necessary, but do we have to talk so much. Yes, this requires patience. Yes, this requires waiting, and the dividends are priceless. Let's let God have the last word, it is his after all.