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.
Similar quotes
In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.
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Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself.
Mother TeresaRead
Lent is like a long 'retreat' during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a period of spiritual 'combat' which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don't say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now - draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God's grace through prayer.
Oswald ChambersRead
Jesus' pattern prayer, which is both crutch, road, and walking lesson for the spiritually lame like ourselves, tells us to start with God: for God matters infinitely more than we do.
J. I. PackerRead