{"id":2054,"date":"2012-01-05T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T08:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=2054"},"modified":"2016-01-06T13:48:25","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T13:48:25","slug":"how-good-are-we-at-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/how-good-are-we-at-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"How good are we at listening?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How well do we listen to what God is saying to us, through His word, prayer or other people. So let us consider how we approach the Bible. Is it something we do prayerfully?<\/p>\n<p>By approaching the Bible prayerfully we are saying to ourselves and God that we are giving Him our attention and wish to stay closely connected to Him, instead of the approach that often occurs when we rush in with so much on our minds that we are not able to focus on our Lord.<\/p>\n<p>It is good to remember that when we ask God to speak through His word, it is not that He is reluctant to talk to us but that we have to take hold of His willingness to talk to us.<br \/>\nOnce we have lowered our barriers we will find that He is willing to and has a great desire to bring alive His word to us.<\/p>\n<p>The problem still is not that God doesn\u2019t want to speak to us, but that we don\u2019t listen well.<\/p>\n<p>Let us consider that if we take a minute to pray before opening our bibles, we are telling God that we are ready for Him to speak to us and we are ready to listen.<\/p>\n<p>This will be a discipline that has to put into practice; the need to pause and pray before we read God`s word.<\/p>\n<p>It will be good to hear your experiences on this subject and also hear your practice so that we can encourage each other as we walk and share together, as a Band of Brothers, how God has spoken to us.<\/p>\n<p>Every Blessing<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/how-good-are-we-at-listening\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How well do we listen to what God is saying to us, through His word, prayer or other people. So let us consider how we approach the Bible. Is it something we do prayerfully? By approaching the Bible prayerfully we are saying to ourselves and God that we are giving Him our attention and wish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":5895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[322,20,87,325,142],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CVM-50plus-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-x8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7803,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/top-10-action-moments-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":2054,"position":0},"title":"Top 10 Action Moments in the Bible (Pt 5\/10)","date":"9 January 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"No .06 Samson If there ever was an amazing action story in the bible is has to be that of Samson. You can have a look on YouTube of course and find some interesting films made about 50 years ago, but this is begging for a full Hollywood work up.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/action-bible.jpg?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7715,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/the-definitive-top-ten-pt-510\/","url_meta":{"origin":2054,"position":1},"title":"The \u2018Definitive\u2019 Top Ten (Pt 5\/10)","date":"3 October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s try a doxology for this weeks blog and next top ten bible verse. If you are new to the world of doxologies, don\u2019t worry. It\u2019s nothing you will need cream for from the chemist, it\u2019s just a posh word for an awesome section of prayer and praise that we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/top-10.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8186,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/shaped-by-the-word\/","url_meta":{"origin":2054,"position":2},"title":"Shaped By The Word","date":"23 October 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In my last blog, I shared the first of ten values that I am endeavouring to live by. That was to relentlessly pursue God, and in those moments when we lose sight of Him purposefully choose to hunt Him down. In my experience, and in so much of my reading,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/read-bible.jpeg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7102,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/fuel-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":2054,"position":3},"title":"FUEL UP","date":"23 August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Another essential part of training for a triathlon, that I had helpfully ignored was the need to give the body the right fuel and at the right times. If I am honest this came to a head after I had been eating a huge dinner at 8:30pm followed by a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/fighting-fit.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7801,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/top-10-action-moments-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":2054,"position":4},"title":"Top 10 Action Moments in the Bible (Pt 4\/10)","date":"2 January 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"No .07 Gideon When it comes to action and battles, the bible is seriously packed full of this stuff. Don\u2019t shy away from reading these passages, it can be hard to read but it is in the bible and needs to be explored. Some of it is very graphic and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/action-bible.jpg?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5102,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/bible-contradictions-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":2054,"position":5},"title":"Bible Contradictions: Part II","date":"21 March 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Here we are then, with another exciting instalment of supposed Bible inaccuracies. This week we\u2019re looking at some of the questions posed in the book of Mark. Woohoo! Mark 6:5 \u2013 Why couldn\u2019t Jesus do mighty works? Problem: If Jesus is God, \u2018with all authority in heaven and earth\u2019, why\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Demolition Squad&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Bible Contradictions Part II","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/bible-contradictions-part-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2054"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6572,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054\/revisions\/6572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}