What is Listening Prayer?
Weekly Listening Prayer Time
Each Wednesday Morning @ 6 am Brisbane Time on Zoom we host a Listening Prayer Time.
The format for this time is:
Open in Prayer
Read through the allocated passage of Scripture for the week.
Listen to a Worship Song
Share the Question to Ask God
Sit in 20 minutes of silence
Regroup and share what God spoke to each one about.
Close in prayer
You are more than welcome to join us for this Listening Prayer time. To receive the weekly invites join reach out through the Contact Page.
Silence in Prayer:
Adele Ahblerg Calhoun
Adele Ahblerg Calhoun has written an excellent handbook entitled "Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us". This is what Adele says about “Silence in Prayer”.
Adele talks about the fact it is difficult to find silence in this age and talks about the benefits of silence.
At the end of the chapter in her book, she provides some reflections and some spiritual exercises in silence to do.
These exercises have helpful hints to keep in mind when practising silence. For example:
Setting a clock
Letting the noise go.
Meditating on Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
When you go into silence, placing yourself in the presence of God with the words "Here I am."
She advises when distractions come to mind, "let them go by imagining they are boats floating down a river. Let the current take the distractions away. Don't follow the distractions. Gently return to God, repeating, "Here I am." Let the current of God's spirit carry you.
Adele has a whole chapter on Silence in her book. Her book is excellent in providing a wide range of Spiritual Exercises that you can do individually or in a group.
Here are the links to purchasing her book:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3SbtGcs
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3xQwPWR
For more information on Adele Ahlberg Calhoun you can check out here website:
Listening Prayer;
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
In her section on “Listening Prayer” from Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s book “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us”, she references Mark Thibodeaux from Armchair Mystic when she states that prayer evolves in four stages:
Taking at God - the lovely childlike prayers that are filled with lists of thank yous, straightforward asks and memorised graces and going-to-bed prayers
Talking to God - we find our own words and learn to monologue and intercede from our hearts about our desires and needs.
Listening to God - the understanding that prayer is a dialogue that requires listening to God's thoughts and not just my own.
Being with God - the basis of contemplative prayer, which rests in God's presence without concern for what prayer activity is going on.
In regards to Listening Prayer, she says it "turns us away from elaborate internal commentaries, noisy inner chaos and catastrophic thinking (which makes things worse). It invites us to let go of dramatic internal dialogues and listen to a voice besides our own or that of the evil one."
Adele goes on to say: “No one can conjure up God or force God to speak. So, listening prayer is never in my control. When I say, like Eli, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3;9-10), I will be in a place to hear when God speaks. Developing an ear that recognises God’s voice and that listens to your life opens up the possibility of hearing from God through anyone or anything. Practice listening to God, and you will develop a heart tuned to the pitch and timbre of God’s word to you.”
Get In Touch
We would love for you to become part of the Listening Prayer Community. Join our mailing list or ask us a question or enquire about attending a Listening Prayer Session.
