Daily Devotions

The next important principle of Christian listening is that It involves being open-minded and acknowledging that you may not know everything.

One of the Desert Fathers tells this story,  ‘An old man used to say, ‘If you see a man who has fallen into the water, and you can help him, stretch out your staff to him and draw him out, lest if you stretch your hand to him and you are not able to bring him up, he drags you down and both of you perish’. Now he spoke this for the sake of those who thrust themselves forward to help other people who are being tempted and who, through wishing to help others beyond their powers themselves fall. It is right for a man to help his brother according to the power he has, for God demands not from a man beyond his strength.’ 

Being open to God means actively allowing God to have full access to your life, thoughts, and emotions, essentially creating a space within yourself where you are receptive to His guidance, love, and influence, without resistance or closed-off areas; it involves honesty, vulnerability, and a willingness to listen to and follow His will. 

The assurance is found in 2 Timothy 1:7, where we read,”For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Suppose a Dad takes his 2 year old to the surgery and the little one has an injection in the arm and it really hurts. The boy doesn’t understand that the shot is to keep him healthy. All he knows is that the vaccination hurt and daddy just stood there. Doesn’t dad know how bad a the injection hurts? Was Daddy unable to stop the nurse from giving me the injection? 

So the boy gets all his friends together and tells them how painful his the injection was and how powerless his dad was to stop it from happening. Is any of that true? Does his dad know how painful a vaccination was? Yes, of course, he’s had many himself. Was dad powerless to stop the injection? No, his dad brought him in for the vaccination and could have stopped it at any time. Doesn’t his dad care? Very much. He suffers to see his boy suffer, but he knows it’s for the child’s best. What’s the problem? The 2 year-old’s understanding is limited.

And as a child of God, my understanding is limited. And as much as a toddler’s understanding is limited in comparison to mine, so is my understanding limited in comparison to God.

God, give us the courage to be totally open, transparent and vulnerable in our prayer lives with you, so we can begin to be authentic in our relationships with others as well. Guide us to loving people, who it is safe to be ourselves with. Give us increasing courage to be real and put ourselves out there, so we can begin to experience the fullness of life. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.