The Power Of Listening

I was talking with a group of men from our church when someone shared a traumatic event in their life. We all listened in as he told us his thought processes as he went through it. When he finished, another man began to share his story. One by one we talked about the different events, but found there were some similarities in what we felt, how we thought and how God rescued us. One of the commonalities was that each one of us had at least one another man, who wasn’t in his life before, show up and offer help. These men who helped are still in our lives today because of what they did to rescue us. In all our stories, they took time to listen as we processes the pain and loss.

In the first chapter of Job, we read how Satan went to God accusing Job of being protected by God. He then launched an all out assault on his life taking his kids, his livestock and his livelihood. Chapter one finishes with Job worshipping God and declaring faith in His goodness. In chapter two, Satan went and a used him again. This time he struck Job with disease and boils. Job’s wife told him to curse God and die. It then says three men came to him to sympathize with him and to comfort him. He was so disfigured from the disease and grief that they could hardly recognize him. They cried with him and sat in silence for seven days and seven nights. They didn’t offer platitudes or ways to fix things. They simply listened and mourned with him.

James 1:19 says, “Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]” (AMP). If you see someone going through a difficult time, take this verse to heart. Be slow to speak. Sometimes nothing said is better than trite sayings. Let the Holy Spirit guide you if you do so that you can speak carefully chosen words that bring healing. Be quick to listen without offering advice or ideas. Listen with the intent to understand them and to allow them to process what they’re going through. Job’s friends started out doing the right thing. They kept him from feeling isolated and alone in the darkest time of his life. Let God use you to bring healing and strength to someone in a desperate situation by your presence and through your ability to listen. There is great power in listening.

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