Session 4: Morning - Listen for God

Good morning, my friend, and welcome to Day 2. Yesterday, we began with the foundation of monastic life: learning to live in the presence of God. Throughout the day, you practiced one simple truth: God is here. You tried to remember Him in your work, your meals, your conversations, and the ordinary moments of your life. Last night, you looked back over your day and noticed when you remembered God and when you forgot Him. Today, we take the next step. If God is present, then we must learn how to listen.

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Listening is at the very heart of monastic life. In fact, the Rule of Saint Benedict begins with a single word: Listen. Think about how unusual that is in our world. We are constantly encouraged to speak, post, react, comment, argue, explain, promote ourselves, and make our opinions known. Everyone wants to be heard. But the monk begins somewhere else. He begins by listening. So this morning, we are going to practice becoming quiet enough to hear. Find a peaceful place if you can. Put your phone aside. Sit comfortably. Let your hands rest. Close your eyes if that helps you become still. Take a slow breath. [PAUSE - 10 SECONDS] And another. [PAUSE - 10 SECONDS] You do not need to figure anything out during these next thirty minutes. You simply need to become available. Today our prayer is very simple: “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.”

Samuel Hears God's Voice

Our Scripture this morning comes from 1 Samuel, Chapter 3. Samuel is still young. He is serving in the temple under Eli when something strange happens during the night. Samuel hears someone calling his name. “Samuel.” He assumes Eli is calling him, so he gets up and goes to Eli. But Eli says, “I did not call you. Go back to sleep.” Samuel returns to bed. Again he hears his name. “Samuel.” Again he goes to Eli. And again Eli tells him that he did not call. This happens a third time. Finally, Eli realizes what Samuel does not yet understand. God is calling him. Eli tells Samuel that if the voice comes again, he should respond: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Samuel returns to his place. God calls again: “Samuel, Samuel.” And this time Samuel listens. There is something important hidden in this story. God was speaking before Samuel understood who was speaking. Samuel had to learn how to recognize God's voice. The same can be true for us. We sometimes say, “God never speaks to me.” But perhaps the better question is: Have I learned how to listen? God does not normally speak to us as another person standing in the room. He speaks through Scripture. Through prayer. Through conscience. Through the wisdom of the Church. Through other people. Through circumstances. Sometimes through beauty. Sometimes through suffering. Sometimes through a persistent thought that draws us toward what is good, true, loving, and holy. And sometimes God speaks through silence itself.

Five Minutes of Silence

Yesterday you experienced five minutes of silence. Today we return to it, but with a slightly different purpose. Yesterday, we practiced simply being with God. Today, we are going to listen. Do not enter this silence demanding that God say something dramatic. You do not need to hear a voice. You do not need to receive an answer. Listening begins with availability. Imagine Samuel lying quietly in the temple. Then make his prayer your prayer: “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” If your mind wanders, gently return to those words. If you begin planning your day, return. If worries appear, return. If nothing seems to happen, remain. Silence is not wasted time. You are training your heart to become attentive. Now let us enter five minutes of silence together. “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” [SILENCE - 5 MINUTES]

Learning to Hear

Slowly bring your attention back. Do not immediately ask yourself, “Did God speak to me?” That can turn prayer into another task we think we must accomplish. Instead ask a simpler question: Was I willing to listen? Perhaps your mind was peaceful. Perhaps it was chaotic. Maybe an important thought came to you. Maybe nothing came at all. That is okay. Monastic listening develops over time. Think about someone you love deeply. You recognize that person's voice because you have spent time with them. You know their expressions. Their habits. Their way of thinking. You can sometimes anticipate what they will say because you know them so well. Our relationship with God develops in a similar way. We learn His voice by spending time with Him. We learn His voice through Scripture. We learn what draws us toward love, truth, humility, mercy, courage, and holiness. And we gradually learn to distinguish those movements from voices that lead toward fear, pride, selfishness, resentment, or despair. Listening takes patience.

Listen With the Ear of the Heart

Saint Benedict begins the Prologue of his Rule with an extraordinary invitation: “Listen carefully… and incline the ear of your heart.” The ear of your heart. Think about that phrase. We normally think of listening as something we do with our ears. But Benedict understood that spiritual listening goes deeper. We can hear someone without truly listening. You have probably experienced this in conversation. Someone is talking to you, but instead of listening, you are preparing your response. You are waiting for your turn. You are deciding whether you agree. You are thinking about something else. Your ears hear the words, but your heart is somewhere else. Saint Benedict asks the monk to listen differently. To become receptive. To pay attention. To allow what he hears to change him. This is also how we approach God. We do not come to prayer simply to tell God what we want. We also ask: “What are You asking of me?” That question can be uncomfortable because listening may require change. God may ask us to forgive someone we do not want to forgive. To apologize when our pride would rather defend itself. To stop doing something we know is wrong. To serve someone when we would rather be comfortable. To slow down when we want to keep running. To trust when we would rather control. True listening eventually leads to response.

The Noise Around Us

Now think about your normal day. How much silence is actually in it? Many people wake up and immediately reach for a phone. Before their feet touch the floor, they have already entered the world of messages, headlines, emails, notifications, and social media. Then comes television, podcasts, music, conversations, traffic, work, videos, and endless information. None of these things is necessarily bad. But together they can create a life in which there is almost no room to listen. Imagine trying to hear someone whisper while twenty televisions are playing around you. That is what our interior lives can sometimes become. God has not necessarily stopped speaking. We may simply have filled every quiet space. Monastic life deliberately protects silence because monks understand something important: What we continually listen to eventually shapes us. If you spend hours every day listening to anger, you may become more angry. If you constantly listen to fear, you may become more fearful. If you continually listen to people telling you that you need more possessions, more attention, more status, or more success to matter, eventually you may believe them. So today, pay attention not only to whether you are listening, but to what you are listening to.

Journaling: How Will I Listen Today?

Take out your journal or notebook. At the top of the page write: DAY 2 - LISTEN. Underneath it, write this question: How will I practice listening today? Maybe you will spend ten minutes without your phone. Perhaps you will read a short passage from Scripture slowly instead of rushing through it. Maybe you will give another person your complete attention during a conversation. Perhaps you will turn off the radio while driving and simply be quiet. Maybe when you feel an impulse to speak, you will wait a few seconds and listen first. Or perhaps several times today you will stop and pray Samuel's words: “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” Choose one practice. Remember what we learned yesterday. Do not try to change your entire life in one morning. Monastic life is built through small acts repeated faithfully. Take a few minutes now and write your practice for today. [JOURNALING SILENCE - 3 MINUTES]

Listen to the People Around You

There is one more form of listening I want you to practice today. Listen to people. Really listen. You may discover that this is harder than sitting in silence. When someone speaks to you today, try not to immediately prepare your response. Do not interrupt. Do not automatically turn the conversation back toward yourself. Listen for what the person is actually saying. Listen for what may be underneath the words. Perhaps someone around you is lonely. Perhaps someone is worried. Maybe someone simply wants to be noticed. Saint Benedict understood that we encounter God not only in prayer but also through one another. Sometimes the voice we need to hear comes through the person standing directly in front of us. So today, listen with your ears, but also practice listening with what Saint Benedict called the ear of the heart.

Closing Prayer

Let us finish our morning in prayer. Heavenly Father, the world around me is filled with voices. Some lead me toward You, and some pull me away. Give me the wisdom to know the difference. Quiet the noise inside me. Quiet my need to always speak, explain, defend, react, and control. Teach me to listen. Speak to me through Scripture. Speak through my conscience. Speak through the people You place in my path. Speak through moments of beauty, difficulty, and silence. And when You speak, give me the courage not only to hear but to respond. Like Samuel, may my heart learn to say: “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” Amen.


Before we finish, remain silent for one final minute. Do not ask for anything. Simply listen. [SILENCE - 1 MINUTE] When you are ready, begin your day. Notice the sounds around you. Notice the people around you. Notice the voices competing for your attention. And every once in a while, become quiet and remember your prayer: “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.” We will meet again at midday, when we will go deeper into one of Saint Benedict's most important teachings: listening with the ear of the heart.