[You] have ears but do not hear.
—Jeremiah 5:21
A bumper sticker on the car in front of me made me smile: “My wife says I never pay attention to what she says—or something like that.”
Defective hearing also breeds divine alienation. God accused his people of not listening to him (Is 42:20; Jer 5:21). And to his closest disciples, Jesus said, “[you] have ears but fail to hear” (Mk 8:18).
I expect God to listen when I pray. I, on the other hand, sometimes have the listening skills of a rock. I’ll read three chapters in my Bible—and suddenly realize my mind has taken a side trip, and I have no idea what I’ve read.
With the Good Book in your hands and your specs on your nose, on a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rank your listening skills?
Your communication with God
should be dialogue, not monologue.