Timothy and Titus Training 101

One the gifts missing in this world is the ability to really listen to another person without thinking about how you are going to respond. Instead of really hearing what the person in front of you is saying with understanding, we rapidly form an opinion of what we think they are saying and prepare our response before their sentence is even said. This assumption thinking gets us into trouble in growing mature, loving, gracious relationships with the people we are leading or following. Every. Time.

And great leader is a gentle listener, says Paul to Timothy. We must work at being great listeners. We must consciously block all personal thoughts and assumptions, STOP what we are doing, and lovingly and graciously look into their eyes as they are talking. God’s Holy Spirit will then help us see their soul and feel their heart. We get to know them more this way and then are more able to help them along in their journey. OR, what they are saying may help us in our walk! LISTEN…it is a skill that must be fine tuned daily. We are so full of ourselves at times that we hear no one but ourselves. That is a lonely place to be.

Listening begins with hearing God, looking in to His face each morning before looking into the face of mankind. Ask, “What are YOUR priorities for me this day, Lord?” Then stop and really listen to His Holy Spirit speak to your heart. HE WILL! God patiently waits for us to stop, be still, know Him and really listen to Him. Our prayers should be balanced with Adoration, Confessions, Thanksgiving, Supplications…and then Listening! Don’t get up from discussions with the Master until He has spoken and we have listened. This is life transforming when we get this right!

In our exercise of learning and practicing listening intently to our Master, we learn to listen to others with greater intensity, too! (It also makes us better parents!) Less talk. Greater listening. This is a skilled gift that can be improved upon daily and will make us better leaders.

Now, Paul to Timothy…Listen in…

2 Timothy 2, The Message

22-26 Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.

What do we learn?
–“Don’t hear what I’m not saying” is the battle cry of most people who seek to be understood.
–Listen gently and patiently, without thought of how you are to respond.
–THINK before responding. Take in all the facts. Don’t had fuel to the fire, but instead seek to defuse the situations. A good listener does this well.
–Bottom line of listening…God might use us to help someone turn to the Truth and escape the devil’s hold on them. So listening could be a matter of LIFE or death!

Dear Heavenly Father, Here we are again, asking you to help us listen like you listen to us. Help us to see others through your eyes. Help us to see ourselves through Your eyes. But mostly, help us listen…graciously, gently while giving worth to whom we are listening. May our words be from your heart when we do speak. May our words restore not tear down. Thank you, Lord. Now I will be quiet and listen to You.
In Jesus Name, Amen