Part 4 - Listening Prayer

Prayer is communication with God. It includes talking and listening to God. We can thank Him, seek His guidance, share our hurt etc. I find prayer to be an integral part of my journey in knowing Christ and in growing as a person. It is so helpful to be honest and pour out your heart (the good, bad, and ugly) before God in prayer. It develops intimacy. However, we know a one-sided conversation doesn’t usually breed intimacy. So, I have come to develop listening as part of prayer time.

I started this blog by sharing that I went to a listening prayer retreat where God met me powerfully. You can find the speaker’s information here if you desire to engage in such a retreat yourself or have questions about listening prayer:

https://www.imagineministries.net/

Some of the types of questions we reflected on at the retreat:

God, how do you want to relate to me?

God, what gets in the way of me trusting you?

Father, where have I protected my heart because of the past?

God in what areas are you asking me to let your wholehearted love in?

Lord, can you show me a picture of my heart?

Tips on how to engage in listening prayer:

Get to a quiet place.

If your mind is racing, take some time to journal your thoughts, take some deep breaths, or anything else that will help you be in a posture to hear.

Go for a walk outdoors, sit in a comfy chair, or sit across a table and imagine the Lord is sitting across it. If you want, take some clay to mold it as you listen.

Ask the Lord a question or two and listen to what comes to mind, what you notice around you.

Record your reflections. Share your reflections with someone you trust.

Discern. If what you sense or “hear” goes against the bible, you can know this is not from God. (God will never tell you, for example that you are a loser since the bible says you are made in His image, you are fearfully and wonderfully made, He so loved you that He gave His son, and there is forgiveness in Him.)

This is why discernment (knowing God’s word in the bible and being in community) is important to have as guideposts as we engage in listening prayer. Yet, it is still a valuable practice to engage in!