Listen With Your Eyes
Have you ever been conversing with someone when suddenly, you realize they are no longer listening? Something or someone else has attracted their awareness and they cease paying attention. This situation has happened to me on more than one occasion, although if I am going to be honest, I am usually not the victim, but the perpetrator.
Usually, the subject matter is not interesting enough to keep me tuned in, or it has become too long of a discussion to keep me engaged. Though not exactly bored, I have grown impassive. It is not that the other person is unpleasant or dull, it is more likely that I am ready to move on and my focus has faded.
I am ashamed of my restless behavior during these dialogues and know I need to sharpen my listening skills. For too many years, I have known that good listening is a habit that requires conscious effort and exercise. Sadly, practicing distraction-free, attentive listening is still not a talent I have mastered, and honing my listening ability is a forever challenge.
Regrettably, I am also better at talking to God than listening to Him. While quick to tell Him my needs and requests, I am not mindful of what He is saying to me. Conversation requires an exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas and while God hears plenty from me, I often find it difficult to discern His voice.
Knowing that God speaks in Holy Scripture, I try every day to read from the Old and New Testaments, even if I wrestle with interpretation. I have read the Bible twice in my lifetime, so His Word is familiar to me, yet sometimes, I errantly count it too familiar to give meaning. When this happens, I pray to the Holy Spirit, asking him to refresh my heart.
Periodically, I try meditative reflection by focusing on a particular word, phrase, or passage and re-reading it slowly, prayerfully, or aloud. My hope is to capture God’s intended personal meaning for me. I force myself to rest quietly and beg God to impart insight, wisdom, and guidance.
According to the book of Psalms, God speaks to us, but we must remain still to hear Him. The main purpose of reading God’s Word is to “come to Him,” to encounter Him, and to meet Him in silence. When I quiet my soul, I am more apt to feel His presence and as a result, to experience genuine interaction with Him.
Still, I struggle and sometimes feel like I am forcing words out of God’s mouth. Thankfully, God accepts and loves me the way I am even if I cannot hear Him during contemplation. I come to Him awkwardly and with messiness and He continues to embrace me with love.
Gratefully, God keeps a window open. I was weeding in the yard yesterday when the humidity told me I needed a dip in the pool. Refreshed after swimming laps, I reclined, floating casually, when out of squinted eyes, I spotted a white seabird flying overhead.
Eagles frequently leave the woods surrounding the neighborhood in search of prey, duck families hang out at the pond, and smaller birds gather and flit among the nearby trees they inhabit, but this gull was all alone. He lingered in the sky, so close to the pool that I could see his decorated wingspan in detail as he glided elegantly above me as though he were dancing just for me. I knew it was God, and He was speaking to me.
Motivational speaker Emory Austin says, “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” On days I cannot hear God, I still listen, straining to hear with my eyes, and He usually communicates visually. God is never mute — He speaks not only in the silence of the heart but also in the hush of creation.
