When my husband calls me on the phone, he never has to identify himself. I know his voice so well that further identification is not needed. At the risk of embarrassing us both, I will share that almost every phone conversation begins with Dave saying, “Hi Gorgeous!” and my response of “Hi Handsome!” The calls almost always end with “I love you!” I know his voice, and even after the call has ended, the pronouncement of being known as his “beloved and beautiful bride” is always embedded in my heart. I feel loved and cherished, even in the simple act of hearing his voice on the phone. How much greater the love of Jesus is for me, for you…and for His Beloved Bride, the Church.There are two things about prayer that resonate deeply with me in the simple act of a phone call with the person I love most on earth. First, I know his voice, and he knows mine. Yet, how well do I know the voice of the One who created my innermost being? Jesus, whose voice I should fully recognize and follow?  In John 10, Jesus states that those who are His sheep know His voice, but do not acknowledge the voices of strangers. I must be a good listener to the voice of the One who is always present to me and within me. I need to learn to discern His voice above every other…to cherish it, and to obey it. Listening prayer is a transformational spiritual discipline. Until I can determine Jesus’ voice above and in the midst of all of the others, I cannot discern and live in the kingdom of God in all of its fullness. Living in and leaning into the presence of Christ reminds me always that He is my Beloved, and I am His. He loves me beyond any love my husband could ever hope to have for me, or I for him. His voice instructs, admonishes, encourages, builds up, convicts, and is filled with all of the peace, wisdom and strength I need to love Him fully, and to love others with the love of Christ.

How does one practice listening prayer? First of all, listening requires slowing down and paying attention. It is not emptying one’s mind, but filling it with Christ alone. Jesus is the Word of God. Therefore, Scripture is perhaps the best way to, as Psalm 46:10 states, “Be still and know” that He alone is God. Any “voice” that does not agree with this Word, is not of God. This is why knowing the Word is so important to listening.

I know my husband well, and because we have lived together for so long, we often finish sentences for one another, or think the same things at the same time. This is how we should continually live with Jesus. Sometimes walking in nature or contemplating the beauty of what He has created draws me into an acute awareness of His Divine Presence. Sometimes it is dwelling upon the character and nature of Jesus. Perhaps I will settle on His loving kindness, His compassion or His power and meditate on one of these characteristics, asking Him to reveal more of Himself to me. Listening helps me to know Jesus better as He unfolds Himself into my heart. I can “be still” at any time of day or night for He is fully present to me 24-7 unlike any human relationship.

Secondly, I know from his voice that my husband’s love remains with me always. Even when we are not physically present in the same place, I feel that love and know it to be true and real. This knowledge stays with me always…even when we disagree or when we hit a rough patch or season in the midst of life. Jesus, the One I love even more than my own husband, lives with and within me. His presence is continual. His love will never fail because He is the Divine Love.

Jesus tells us: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). The verb abide is closely related to the word stay. Just as my husband’s words and love stay with me continually, how much more do the words and love of Christ abide with me? Most importantly, my husband cannot always be physically present with me; however, Jesus is continually abiding within me, and, if I am obedient to Scripture, I also stay continually with Him. Being aware of this spiritual mystery is vital to all believers.

Yet, how does one abide continually with Jesus so that fruit can be produced? We must stay attached to the Vine, and prayer is the best way I know to do this! Prayer is a love relationship with God. It is continual remembrance of what Henri Nouwen calls our “belovedness” in Him. It is living within that love that gives us strength to live it out as fruitfulness. We must first abide (stay) in Him, recognizing also His presence in us so that we are available to love Him fully and to take part in the work of His kingdom that extends His love to others. It is cultivating a continual awareness of His presence.

Jesus has promised to be with us “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In his book Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life, Henri Nouwen states, “Staying with Jesus and he with us requires walking the road together, not turning back, anticipating seeing Jesus in unexpected ways in our hearts.” He is referring to the revelation of the person of Jesus in the lives of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, but it was not until they begged Him to stay with them…and he accepted their invitation and broke bread with them that they recognized who He truly was. They did not yet recognize His voice, even though their hearts were “burning” within them.  It was an act of remembrance (taking communion together) that triggered the recognition of His Presence. They had lost hope that Jesus was truly who He said He was until this moment. They were not yet completely attached to the Vine. Once this connectivity was established, the fullness of the kingdom was theirs! Their eyes were opened to the presence of the living Jesus! It is this awareness that fuels relationship and recognition. My guess is that these two men never again had trouble recognizing that Voice!

Prayer as every day life includes abiding with Jesus and listening to His voice. The longer we dwell in His presence, the more we will know that we are His beloved and He is ours!

Life update: Since this article was written, my precious Dave has gone to be with Jesus. Now, more than ever, I am leaning in to hear the voice of Jesus. I am learning daily what an amazing husband HE is, comforting me in the loss of my earthly spouse: “For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth” (Isaiah 54:5).  Jesus is worthy of our attention and as God has said, “…This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5)!

“Converting our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer moves us from a self-centered monologue to a God-centered dialogue.” – Henri Nouwen

Reading Nouwen’s quote this week, I paused to consider once again what has been changing about my everyday life as it is gradually being transformed into an unceasing dialogue with God. For many years, having such discourse with God was an elusive reality for me.

When I became a follower of Jesus, I was taught that everyone should carve out time every morning for Bible study, worship and prayer. I still believe this is true, for it gives my days a sense of balance and focuses me upon God’s purposes for my day rather than my own. Yet, I would always find a drifting occurring as the day traveled along. Rather than trusting God as my friend, confidante, guide, wisdom and rock in the midst of every activity, conversation and relationship, I began to marginalize His participation through forgetfulness and neglect. Life became about what I was doing, where I was going and who I was connecting with.  Unless His help was clearly needed, I was pretty self-sufficient and, as Nouwen states, “self-centered.”

Is it possible to develop a spiritual strategy to move one’s unceasing thinking towards unceasing prayer? I believe so! Spiritual practices such as silence and listening prayer are crucial in developing the discipline of continual awareness of and conversation with God. Here are some powerful ways, based upon Scripture, to help us transition from unceasing thought to unceasing prayer:

Remember that God knows all of our thoughts: In Psalm 139:2 the Psalmist says, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” There is no thought that escapes the notice of the Father. Our attentiveness to this fact can stop us from purposeless wandering of mind, or from focusing upon our own needs and agendas incessantly. I am always more observant of my thoughts when I cultivate an awareness that God is paying attention to them. I am more careful to consider what He thinks of my opinions, ideas and random notions and more inclined to speak to Him about them.
Ask God to search your thoughts: If God knows all of our thoughts we should prayerfully invite Him to examine our thought lives. Our awareness of His presence in our thoughts can lead to conversation with God about what is contained in them. A good prayer for this is found in Psalm 139:23: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  Spend time listening to what He may have to say about what you are thinking, and ask Him to show you how to change, alter, or act upon things as He brings conviction, sheds light and asks for obedience.
Take every thought captive: 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” If we pay attention to every thought, and whether or not it is Christlike, natural conversation with God will happen. Perhaps asking questions of God such as, “Father, how can I think differently about this situation?” will help us with the transformation of our minds (Romans 12:2).
Fix your thoughts on Jesus: In Hebrews 3:1 we read, Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” If we have taken our thoughts captive, we can begin to fix our thoughts upon the things that matter to Jesus.
We have the mind of Christ:  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we, as believers in Christ, are able to align our thoughts with Jesus’ thoughts.  “For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart” (1 Corinthians 2:16, Amplified).  Because we have the mind of Christ Jesus, and because He dwells within us, we can converse continually with Him about the feelings and purposes of His heart. Desiring to see His plans for us, for others and for His world come to fruition, we will be more likely to press into ceaseless conversation to that end.

I know these are not easy steps, and that it will take some time and discipline to have an unceasing dialogue with God; however, His word gives us what we need to move in that direction.  Let’s pray for one another to recognize that God knows our thoughts, to invite Him to search those thoughts, and to begin to take every thought captive by training our focus upon Jesus. Then, in the knowledge of the truth that through the power of the Holy Spirit we have the mind of Christ, our prayer lives will see great transformation.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ He called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’

‘Lord, I want to see,’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God’” (Luke 18:35-43).

There are several prayer insights in this short passage of Scripture to inform our every day lives:

Acknowledge His Presence

First, the blind man didn’t let the opportunity to cry out to Jesus pass. He acknowledged the presence of the Son of God. If he had waited, the moment would have been gone and he may have lived the rest of his days as a blind man. How many of us let moments of need pass us by? Perhaps it isn’t our own personal need, but the need of another, or a situation that can only be changed or taken care of by the power of God. The salvation of another, the healing of a relationship, the mercy of the Father brought into a tragedy, etc. may be totally dependent upon you taking note of the nearness of God Himself in a particular moment. Do we fully believe that our prayers are relevant to the working of the power of God? The blind man certainly did!  Perhaps we need to resolve not to let opportunities to call upon Jesus pass us by because we are too busy or perhaps even too shy to call out to Him.

Pray with Persistence

Although those with Jesus attempted to silence him, the blind man persisted in his request. How often do we allow ourselves to be intimidated into silence by others, or because we might be embarrassed to speak our requests aloud? How many of us give up quickly when an answer doesn’t come immediately? Scripture says we are to pray and not give up (Luke 18: 1-8).

Be Specific

Next, Jesus wants us to be specific with our requests. He asked the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” Many of us are vague with our requests in prayer. For example, “Lord, bless me.” Or, “Lord, take care of my needs.” Jesus was very pointed in his question to the blind man. He wanted a specific answer. Perhaps we are too busy or distracted to even listen to Jesus ask us what we want Him to do. He is God, and already knows before we ask (Matthew 6:8). But Jesus didn’t heal the blind man until he answered the question. How many answers to prayer might we see if we answered the question Jesus asks?

Have Faith

The blind man’s faith attracted the attention of Jesus, who was moved to respond to his request. Do we have the faith to believe Jesus has the power to meet our need, or to bring His power to bear upon a situation we are praying about? If not, perhaps we shouldn’t even make the request. James 1:6-8 says, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Respond in Praise

When the blind man received his sight, his response was to follow Jesus, praising God. All those who witnessed the miracle also praised God. How often do we receive answers to our prayers and we don’t give honor and glory to the Father? Sometimes we act astonished that our prayer was answered. Other times, we may be thrilled to receive an answer, but we still forget to acknowledge that it was God who moved in response to our request. It is easy to take answered prayer for granted, or to be surprised by it. Answered prayer is for the glory of God alone. How often we pervert His purposes by refusing or neglecting to acknowledge the moving of His hand.

One brief moment in our spiritual history can change things forever. Such was the case for the blind man outside of Jericho. Because of his faith in Jesus’ ability to change his situation, he acknowledged His presence, persistently begged for Jesus to have mercy upon his condition, responded specifically to Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?”, had faith in Jesus’ ability to give him sight, and then gave God all the glory. As the blind man received his physical sight, may we receive spiritual insight to fuel our every day prayer lives.

I have a sign on my office bulletin board that states, “Sit in silence for ten minutes every day.” It is not as easy as it sounds; however, silence is an important discipline to cultivate in one’s journey towards Christ-likeness. I wish I could say I was good at practicing this discipline, but it is my goal to eventually get to the place where the exercise of silence strengthens my ability to be attentive to God as I go about my normal everyday activities.

Ten minutes isn’t a very long time, but it seems eternity when there is much to do and many things on my mind. Yet, the discipline of silence, if nurtured well, will result in a deeper knowing of the heart of God. How can God speak to me if I am always talking…or otherwise engaged? If I make room for Him to speak, perhaps my doing and thinking will be more kingdom-focused, and my prayers more intent upon and aligned with God’s heart. And, hopefully my activity following silence will be filled with obedient, Christ-like pursuits. Silence is not easy in our noisy culture; however, as Henri Nouwen states, “I have never met anyone seriously interested in the spiritual life who did not have a growing desire for silence.”

In the spiritual discipline of silence, we create space for God to speak. How we engage God in this time can be in a variety of ways; however, I will touch on two. First, we can wait silently for God to speak directly to us…with an expectation that He will give us a word or a revelation regarding some clarity that is needed or if there is something we have been struggling with, such as a choice that needs to be made. It is a time of intentional listening for the purpose of discerning the voice of the Father. I often use the words of young Samuel, who said, “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening.” Patient waiting is involved in this form of silence. It can be hard work, but as Nouwen wrote, “Silence is the furnace of transformation.”

Secondly, there is a discipline of silence that is simply “keeping company with God.” It isn’t the time to ask questions or express what is on our hearts. If we fill the silence with our thoughts and questions –there is no true silence. In this kind of silent prayer, we can allow ourselves simply to be with God – and that is enough. There is no void because God is present. We are aware of His presence because we are paying attention. Susan Muto stated, “Silence is not to be shunned as empty space, but to be befriended as fertile ground for intimacy with God.”

Jesus, of course, is our prime example of one who waited patiently on God. He stated that He never did or said anything that the Father did not instruct Him to do or say. We know from Scripture that Jesus spent a lot of time in silent prayer – waiting and listening. But we also see our Living Christ moving throughout His day with continual wisdom and grace – He didn’t always need to stop before every healing or word spoken to draw apart for a private exchange with God, for that conversation was always part of Him. He had times of extended solitude with God, but was always attentive to the voice He knew so well no matter what circumstance He found Himself involved in. This is prayer in everyday life. “Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God, and also obedience. You hear the prayer in it all” (Psalm 65:1-2 MSG).

If your life is anything like mine, sometimes it seems to be moving at too fast of a pace. There is a great need to breathe and reflect and recapture some moments of peace and a tangible awareness that Emmanuel, God with us, is indeed just that! When life becomes hectic and frantic, there is a great need for an intentional slowing down in order to connect with God more regularly. Even on days when we are more restful and less engaged with activity, it is important to fix our gaze upon God’s face and seek His company.

A rhythm of prayer that helps me to more fully engage the presence of God in every day life is best known as the Prayer of Examen. Although it can be done twice a day, most people find that engaging in this practice before bed is very effective. Examen involves setting aside 10-15 minutes and taking prayerful notice of your entire day. For this to become a holy prayer habit that is sustainable, choose approximately the same time each day and find a place where you can be undisturbed and undistracted. Also, feel free to make this prayer your own in a way that fits your own personality and reflects your own unique relationship with God.

There are basically three simple steps that make up the prayer of Examen:

1. Preparation – take time to still and quiet your soul: “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me” (Psalm 131:2).  Focus your attention completely upon God in this moment: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

2. Begin to review your entire day. Give thanks to God for all that He brings to your mind. Ask God to show you two things: “When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

• Notice when you lived out of love and freedom in Jesus Christ: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence or if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things “ (Philippians 4:8).
• Notice when you did not live out of love and freedom in Jesus: “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40). Spend some time dealing with those things God brings to mind in repentance.

3. Give thanks to God for the opportunity to review the day, and to notice when you did or didn’t live like Jesus. Ask God for guidance and grace for tomorrow: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

I suggest keeping a journal and discerning with a mentor or trusted friend what God downloads to your spirit during these short seasons of prayer. As this practice becomes a habit for you, allow yourself the freedom to welcome with gratitude the changes that the Holy Spirit births in you. Stick this out for several days and you will see how the practice grows on you and gives surprising depth to the hours of your days. The Prayer of Examen will likely become a practice you will delight in coming back to over and over again as you pay attention to the movement and presence of God throughout your everyday life.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries