I know that I talk too much, not to strangers, but to friends. I get on the phone with one particular friend and we can talk for an hour or more. The same is true of my chats with our daughter. Recently, the Lord has been telling me to be quiet more and to just listen. I’m not the only one bursting with things I want to share, but I am aware that at times, I ramble and the other person doesn’t get a chance to share what is on their hearts. Imagine if God never listened to us how frustrating that would be!

People do not ask for or desire that I tell them all that I am thinking or my opinion about everything. Mostly, they just want a listening ear. Of course, if they are sharing something that is against my moral code, I will speak up, but my new thing to do is just to listen. Did you know that there are studies about being quiet and letting the other person fill the silence? How much we can learn about what is going on in another person’s life is dependent on our truly listening.

We are repeatedly admonished in the Scripture to listen and to think before we speak. I think it would solve a lot of relationship problems if we would make following this verse a habit. It’s hard to argue with someone who isn’t arguing back but is remaining silent, isn’t it?

May we all be blessed today with the reminder to listen carefully and to just be quiet.