In a survey of around 1,000 office workers about “communication,” 40% of them said that the most important part in communication is “listening.” An experiment where two people faced each other and had a conversation about a certain topic also showed the importance of listening: When people were told to listen carefully to what the other person was saying, they were able to have a friendly conversation, but when people were told not to pay attention to what the other person was saying, they could not continue their conversation even after a few minutes.
Although you are sitting and nodding your head, it does not always mean that you are listening carefully. When you listen to somebody while thinking of something else, it is very easy for people to notice that you are not actually listening. You will not remember what you have just heard. That is why experts say that we must listen carefully to what people say so that we will not miss important information that we can get from other people.
“To listen carefully” is even more essential in the communication with God. God’s words have blessings that we cannot buy no matter how much we pay for it. If we have not been paying attention to God’s words while just nodding our heads, and if we have only been listening to what we want to hear, from now on we must give ear to them with all our heart and mind so that we can understand God’s will for our salvation.