Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 NLT
Disciple Making – Active Listening
“Jesus said, ‘He who has ears, let him hear.”’ Mark 4:9 NLT
“Active Listening” is a term which is commonly used in the help professions. It is the most effective form of listening and although listening is considered as a passive skill, active listening requires effort to build and develop it. Boy is it worth it!
Active Listening is a way to show respect, compassion and love to others. It is a form of worship. It is a way to build up treasure in Heaven.
Some common factors that get in the way of active listening are:
* Obvious External Factors – when noise, physical discomfort, interruption such as mobile phones, etc are present.
Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
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* Response Rehearsal – when you switch off from listening to the other person, often through impatience, and instead you focus on what you want to say next. As a result you don’t actually hear what the other person is saying.
Daniel 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
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* Fact Finding – when you search for the facts and details of what someone is saying, instead of listening to the overall message they are trying to communicate. Fact finders often focus on what’s ‘not right’. They are so focused on what’s wrong that they actually miss what’s important.
Romans 2:13 “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
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* Being Judgmental – when you form opinions about what the other person is saying, as opposed to listening to them and seeking to understand them.
Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
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* Problem Solving – when you try to find solutions to the problems instead of listening to what the other person has to say. You become so distracted by your own thoughts that you miss the core message of what they are saying.
Matthew 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
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* Imposing Personal Views – when considering your own viewpoint to be the only correct one and therefore being closed to the views of others.
Acts 23:8 “The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.”
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