Skilful listening is vital to anyone and everyone. There's this saying by Stephen Covey from "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" where he says, "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply."
If you take a look at how you listen today, would you consider yourself as someone with the intent to understand both context and people? Or do you listen simply to respond?
James 1:19 reminds us, "Know this, my beloved brothers: Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger."
Listening can sometimes be something that we do not do naturally, but it is something that we must deliberately develop.
Jesus often listened actively. Mark 10 shares an instance when Jesus heard the cries of the blind man Bartimaeus even through the crowds. He did not just hear Bartimaeus but He understood enough to know the right questions to ask, when to listen, and the right way to respond.
Even when the Pharisees would speak, Jesus would intently listen not just to what they were saying but even to what they were implying and what their motives were when saying things. Imagine that.
Aside from the supernatural discernment given us by the Holy Spirit to understand situations, God also created all of us with a pair of ears and an ability to listen. It's only proper that we develop this skill.
When it comes to learning and growing in skills that make us better, people who put premium on self-improvement will be quick to jump into it. Are you that kind of person? If you are, then growing in listening skills is definitely an area that you will want to become better at.
Active listening is not rocket science. Like anything else, it starts with your intent. The biggest mistake in listening is starting off with our reference and our point of view.
The best way to actively and intently listen is to learn to see things the way the other person sees it. What does the situation look like to them? What do they feel at the moment? Where are they in their relationship with God?
When we see things only from our own perspective, listening becomes an agent of creating assumptions. But when we listen from the perspective of others, we will understand other people and where they are coming from.
Jesus was the best example of this. He had every reason to remain God, but in His intent to understand He came down as man so that He would be able to see things the way we would and understand the pain we would feel.
Do we have that same passion and drive to understand? Or do we simply listen from our own frame of reference and listen only to respond and not to understand?
