A Good Listener:
1. listens with spiritual ears open, hearing and understanding the spirit beneath the words;
2. listens with the heart and mind still and the mouth shut;
3. listens with no personal agenda;
4. listens with compassionate spiritual eyes, maintaining involved eye contact;
5. listens with a compassionate heart;
6. listens with a committed heart;
7. listens with attentiveness;
8. listens without judgment;
9. listens without fear;
10. listens with faith, knowing that the Spirit of God is at work to will and do according to His good purpose;
11. waits patiently, quietly and prayerfully through times of silence, making room for the unfolding of things previously too deep and too painful to even know or express;
12. counts it a privilege to witness a soul in the process of transformation, even when it doesn’t look like it;
13. offers to explore options wisely;
14. offers to pray when the time of tears and sharing ends;
15. consoles with words of comfort and confidence in the faithfulness of God, which is usually all anyone needs to hear;
16. waits to give advice until asked;
17. offers a hug;
18. recognizes that these are holy moments of eternal consequence;
19. keeps all holy moments completely confidential.
20. doesn’t try to take the place of the Holy Spirit.
2 comments:
Wow, a great post. In the past few months, I have found opportunities for silence when usually there are words - and it has been difficult for me to keep quiet. Right after a friend or co-worker says something of consequence, usually with pain attached to it, there is a tendency within me to speak - to immediately console. But careful listening requires a courage to let things sit, to allow the speaker to know I am with them, that they are not alone, and, to say with silence, "this time between us is holy".
Great response; I too, find myself rushed to console and resolve.
God bless,
Fred
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