Quotes about Listening

Shouting is obvious; not talking to each other slips by.

Thus we might not know we have a sage at the table, for he will remain silent while the "experts" prattle on and on.

To be clear, I am not listening for an audible voice, as I would if you and I were talking. I am listening for his gentle voice within, for that is where Jesus dwells—within our very hearts (Eph. 3:17).

Many relationships fail for the insistence of treating others as problems to be solved, rather than as hearts to be known and loved.

Now, if I am having a hard time hearing God's voice, or being certain that I have heard, I will sometimes try on one answer, then the other. Still in a posture of quiet listening, I will add to my prayers, Are you saying yes, Jesus? Are you saying you want us to go? Pause. Listen. Or are you saying no—you don't want us to go? Often as we try on one answer or another, our spirit can feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a confirmation, or a strong sense of reservation.

Pressure nearly always guarantees you will have a hard time discerning what God is saying, if you hear anything at all.

Sorrow more beautiful than Beauty's self. There was a listening fear in her regard, As if calamity had but begun; As if the vanward clouds of evil days Had spent their malice, and the sullen rear 40 Was with its stored thunder labouring up.

LISTEN twice as much as you speak.

When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it's like giving them emotional oxygen.

Faith comes by hearing all the Word, not just preferred sections.

Sabrina fair Listen where thou art sitting Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave, In twisted braids of Lillies knitting The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair, Listen for dear honour's sake, Goddess of the silver lake, Listen and save.

Also, one of the simplest paths to deep change is for the less powerful to speak as much as they listen, and for the more powerful to listen as much as they speak.