“God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” ~ Mother Teresa
I recently learned about “listening prayer,” and it changed my prayer life. When you think about it, it takes two people to have a conversation. One listens, while the other talks. Why should it be any different for our relationship with God?
I have always been very comfortable talking to God (prayer), but learning how to be still enough to hear what He has to say is more challenging for me.
A thriving prayer life is really only possible when we’re quiet enough to hear God speak.
Not long ago, I was honored to join the prayer team at my church. I feel it’s a privilege to be allowed to pray with or for others. At one of my first meetings for the prayer team, I learned about “Listening Prayer.” I had never heard of this way of praying until that Saturday morning meeting.
Listening prayer is an act of faith and obedience. You have to completely surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit and listen to what He says to you. It is a way to better understand God’s heart for people.
Listening prayer is not easy and takes practice.
Some may call this form of prayer “Meditation,” or “Prophetic Prayer.” I like to call it what it is, “Listening Prayer,” because truly the goal of this way of praying is simply being still enough to hear God. The key to praying like this is to learn how to wait on God to reveal a word, a picture or thought; to be still, no matter how long it takes; and to listen to His still small voice within us.
I like to start by getting comfortable. I then read this short prayer that was given to me at the prayer meeting (from Ronald W. Morin, President, Pray America):
After that I close my eyes, and try to be still for as long as I need to. A “picture,” Scripture, or thought may come to mind. At this point I have to trust that God is speaking to me. Some days I don’t hear anything, and I have to trust that as well. I write down what has been impressed on my heart. If there is something I am to do or tell someone, I do it as soon as possible.
The second part of listening prayer is to be committed to obeying what He reveals to you. At first this can be difficult because God may impress something very odd or challenging to you. It is, however, critical that you act immediately and do whatever He shows you.
Confession is another necessary aspect of listening prayer. It is a powerful thing to get in the habit of confessing your faults quickly and to not hide them. It’s important for us to be pure in heart before we go into a time of prayer.
Wait…be still…listen…confess…obey, these are the ingredients to listening prayer.
The woman leading our prayer meeting referred to a book called “God Guides” by Mary Emma Geegh. I went home from that meeting and ordered it immediately. I highly recommend you read it. Mary Geegh was a missionary in India for 38 years. Here’s the introduction to her book:
“When I went to India and started to work in a village, I found many things very wrong. I preached to the people; I prayed for them, but I did all the talking. Sometimes I pleaded with God a whole night for a person to change and turn from the power of Satan to the power of Christ.. Nothing seemed to happen.
Then one day DR. L.R.Scudder, Sr.came to visit the village. He informed the people: if anyone felt the need and wanted help, let him come to him in the Village Prayer Hall. One man came. He told Dr.Scrudder he had broken all the commandments except one. (He had not killed anyone.) He poured out all his troubles. Then Dr. Scudder said, “Let us be still-and wait on the Lord. He has the answer for every problem.” They sat together in silence. Some clear convictions of how wrong he was in the way he was living came to this man with a real sense of repentance. Dr. Scrudder shared many things in his life when Christ gave him the victory, and he told the man “All men are created equal. Any man can have the victory of Christ if he ‘listens’ and obeys.””
“All men are created equal. Any man can have the victory of Christ if he ‘listens’ and obeys.”
For me the hardest part of listening prayer has been having the confidence to believe that what I “hear” God saying is really Him speaking to me. Acting in obedience, however, has given me encouragement. For example, one time I was praying over a woman (a complete stranger to me) who was going on a missions trip. She was feeling anxious about her trip. As I was praying I saw an enormous smiling emoji. I thought to myself, ‘what in the world.’ However, I pushed myself and told her what I was seeing. She immediately started crying and said, “only my closest friends know how much I love emoji’s.” God wanted her to know He was with her, and would be with her. I’m so glad I was obedient.
“‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Guidance from God is like manna. It must be fresh every morning, never neglected.” ~ Mary Geegh.
Psalm 5:3 says, “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” I personally do feel that spending time first thing in the morning is the best time to spend with God. But that could just be me. I love starting my day having connected to the “power source” of my life, Jesus Christ.
One more thing about listening prayer; it’s important to have a journal and pen with you when you sit down to spend some time with God. This way you can write down your listening prayer-what the Lord may be saying to you. “Be still. Listen to Him and write down what you hear. Then do it” writes Mary Geegh.
Learning to be still and listening to God daily for guidance is hard, but with determination and a surrendered will, it can be done, producing life changing, kingdom results. Once you start practicing ‘listening prayer’ daily, it will become more comfortable. As I said already, this type of prayer has changed my life. My prayer for you is that you will explore ‘listening prayer’ as a way to understand and grow closer to God. Wait…Listen…Obey. It really is that simple.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” ~ John 10:27
Very nicely written and something to add to my prayer life! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Peter! I appreciate your kind words.
Thank you for this message. I needed this reminder to be still and listen to God, to wait, to be patient AND to obey when God gives us words, a picture or an impression. – Angela
Thanks Angela! I need this reminder every single day. 🙂