Simplicity, Solitude, Silence, Surrender……movements in prayer that place one in a posture to be present to God.
I heard a new concept last week – “surrendered listening”. I’ve heard “active listening” for years, you know- focused and attentive, with eye contact and listening with intentionality to hear clearly what someone is saying, even behind the words and through their posture and demeanor. But as I heard the phrase “surrendered listening” – an entirely new idea occurred to me. I think I’ve actually done some “surrendered listening” at times without realizing it. But now that I have the words to describe it, I think I can practice it more easily and purposefully. “Surrendered listening”, as it seemed to suggest to me, is listening with a heart/ear that seeks to hear what God hears in the voice/heart of the other person. It’s not just hearing with MY understanding, through MY experience, or with MY response. But it is surrendering one’s faculties so that God’s understanding, God’s experience, and God’s response can be present to the person speaking.
The times that I can remember doing “surrendered listening”, although I didn’t know that’s what I was doing, were holy moments when I heard things and recognized pain or had insights that I knew couldn’t have come from my knowledge or experience. It enabled me to minister to individuals out of a compassion and grace that was most certainly not mine, but simply came through me from another Source. Please pray that I can practice “surrendered listening” more consistently, more intentionally, and with greater ease. CBB 11/24/2015