8 July

Listening is very important. Some people are very good at it. General George Marshall said, ‘Formula for handling people: Listen to the other person’s story? Listen to the other person’s full story. Listen to the other person’s full story first.’ Listening to God is one of the keys to our relationship with him. ‘To listen’, means to hear attentively, ‘to pay attention to’. 

Prayer means giving God our full attention first.  This was the reason they went into exile: ‘The exile came about because of sin: The children of Israel sinned against God... They did all kinds of things on the sly, things offensive to their God’ (vv.7–9, MSG). ‘They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”’ (v.15). The result of not listening was that the people of Israel lost the presence of God and were sent into exile in Assyria: ‘he thrust them from his presence… the Lord removed them from his presence’ (vv.20,23). Like us, so often, they had not been ruthless enough about sin in their lives: ‘They honoured and worshiped God, but not exclusively... They don’t really worship God – they don’t take seriously what he says regarding how to behave and what to believe’ (vv.32,34 MSG). ‘They didn’t pay any attention. They kept doing what they’d always done’ (v.40, MSG).