Prayer Is More About Listening

 

A significant learning for me is that prayer is more about listening to God in His Word than speaking to God. It is in silence that we hear His “still small voice.”   It is a wonderful dialogue in which we choose to be present to each other. Philip Yancey reflects that "There have been long times when I've wondered if God is even there when I pray.  Whether anyone is listening.  In magic, people try to get their gods to do what they want.  So they kill animals and make sacrifices to get their crops to grow or to heal their sick child.  In religion, we try to do what God wants.  Prayer for me is about alignment between me and God.  It's as much about me listening to God, and changing through that experience, as it is about God listening to me and responding in some miraculous way to my requests."   (Faith Today, Jan/Feb 2001, page 28)