TOPIC: LISTENING ENHANCES RELATIONSHIPS
TEXT : Proverbs 20:12
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.
Memory verse: Proverbs 28:9*
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
FOCUS
Today we are looking at one of the things that enhances relationship and it is, listening. If you are going to enjoy your relationship with people, you must cultivate the act of listening to them. We live in a world where people are in haste even when talking, we want everything hastily. So, nobody is hearing out the other person.
There’s nothing that has ruin relationship like lack of hearing. Sometimes you think you have heard but you didn’t hear well. God gave you a hearing ear. So if you have a hearing ear, you must also develop a listening skill. Listening is actually a skill, something you have to consciously develop, you have to come to the understanding of, I want to listen to this person. So, when you listen there is this heart to heart connection both of you will have, there’s something both of you will do, you will see beyond the words , beyond what the person is saying. Just like the way Habakkuk put it that ” I will stand upon my watch, I will hear what he will say unto me, the Lord will speak peace unto his people” We begin to see what God will say not what I will pick.
When people are talking to you and you listen, you begin to see their words in graphics, in pictures then you will be able to understand better than just mere hearing. Many people don’t listen, they just hear; they are not patient enough to listen. There’s a need for coordination of hearing and seeing, there’s an agreement between the two that you can’t separate. As you are listening, you are also seeing. Through this, you can enhance your relationship with people.
LESSON
Job 33:8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying
Don’t forget that you are a royal vessel and royal vessels are listeners. Every royal vessel is a good listener. If you have not listen, you wouldn’t hear; you need to listen to hear. You have spoken in my ears and I have heard you. Have you tried talking to someone and intermittently you ask the person ” what did I say” and then the person is lost and you are wondering, so you have not been listening. He was just hearing.
I want you to know that for you to take heed in your relationship, you must be a good listener. God wants us to listen; it’s not only in love relationship that you listen, even your friends, parents and children, teachers and students and so on. God wants us to listen and listen well.
If you are not a good listener, you are going to have wrong concepts about people. You can’t separate a man from his words. You want to know a man, listen to him. Is there anyone you feel is difficult, just listen to them. When people speak, you understand their values, principles, the things they cherished is revealed and the things they don’t like is also revealed. So why won’t you calm down to understand someone you so desire to relate with. Stay Blessed!
PERSONAL CONFESSION
1 receive grace to be a good listener in life and destiny.
PRAYER FOCUS
Father deliver me from impatience that will not allow me to listen attentively.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Listening is a skill that must be mastered if you want to enjoy your relationships.
Nothing builds relationships like good Listening.