Prayer begins by talking to God, but it ends by listening to Him. In the face of Absolute Truth, silence is the soul's language.
Fulton J. SheenRead
The prayer of listening makes things simple but it also makes us vulnerable, and that is frightening. Listening makes us open to Christ, the Word of God, spoken in all things: in the material world, the Scriptures, the Church, and sacraments and, sometimes most threateningly, in our fellow human beings. To listen at prayer is to take the chance of hearing the voice of Christ in the poor, the weak, those whom we love and those whom we do not love.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Listening in prayer can bring simplicity and vulnerability as we open ourselves to divine communication.
This quote emphasizes the importance of listening in prayer, suggesting that true attentiveness not only simplifies our understanding of faith but also exposes us to vulnerability. By being open to discovering the voice of Christ in various forms, including Scripture and in the marginalized, we learn to connect deeply with both the divine and our fellow humans, which can be both a profound blessing and a source of fear.
Themes
ListeningPrayerVulnerabilityFaithChristCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon on the importance of prayer, one might quote this to encourage deeper listening.
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