Prayer, the number two answer to every question given in a faith formation class behind Jesus. We know prayer is the answer, yet we struggle to make time for it. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to pray without ceasing so we pray rosaries in the car, set alarms to pray the angelus at noon, read scripture, and pour out our hearts to the Lord.

Prayer is our primary avenue of communication with the Lord, but if we don’t listen, how strong can our relationship be?

Yet in the midst of all this prayer, most people find listening to be the most difficult discipline of all. Listening in prayer allows the Lord to speak into our insecurities, fears, and transform our work from the natural level to the supernatural.

God allows us to participate and work alongside him in the work of salvation. Yet many of us forget that this is his work, his people, his ministry, his church. When we listen in prayer, we follow his lead and our work becomes more fruitful, less frustrating, and his will instead of ours.

Each of us was created to be in relationship with God, we have everything we need to hear God in prayer. However, listening to God does not come natural. Why? Because our nature is fallen from God’s presence and we must learn how to pray. Like any skill, we have to practice and discipline the flesh.

Helpful Hints For Listening In Prayer:

• Finding Silence – Silence is hard to come by in our loud and noisy world.
  • In order to hear God, we must first be comfortable in silence and train our mind to be open. This involves clearing away the thoughts and focusing on the Lord.

• Many people use images of Christ, a crucifix, or a mental image of a place where they are sitting with the Lord.
  • Start out by spending a couple minutes in silence and focus on receiving from the Lord.
  • If random thoughts, memories, and desires come into your mind when you try to be quiet, try writing things down so you can remember them later.  
  • If a person or situation comes up, pray for them, dismiss them, and return to silence.
• Receiving doesn’t necessarily mean we get something physically or emotionally.
  • Create space in your thoughts and actions to allow the Lord’s will to be done.
  • You must be open to allowing him to speak to us when he desires. Spend time each day coming to the Lord with an open mind and heart, he begins to speak to us in the quiet.
• It is helpful to have a spiritual director or mentor to help us decipher how the Lord is moving during that time of silence.
  • Since they are out of our emotional sphere, they are able to interpret the Lord’s movement within our confusion.
• Bring before the Lord current projects, our schedules, and his ministry and allow him to direct your efforts.
  • Ask him what you should do with each one, being prepared to take his instructions down.  

Feeling successful in prayer and listening to the Lord takes time. For many of us, it’s much easier to answer an e-mail or return a phone call that is awaiting a response because we “feel” much more productive.

The sad reality is that many of us don’t trust the Lord to take care of everything. We are less productive because we are still trying to do it all ourselves. This is his work and he is outside of time. It’s time to step away from our phones and computers and allow the Lord to work through us, so we can give these people what they really need, Him.

Learning to listen to God in prayer can be slow, and sometimes a dry process, but it is always fruitful in disposing our hearts toward God. The Lord is speaking, is your servant listening?