Beyond Technology
Speak Lord, Your Servant is Listening
by guest writer Ann Starrette
Speak LORD, Your Servant is Listening. 1 Samuel 3:9
What can help us facilitate making the transition from the busy workday
into a quiet receptive attitude of listening to God with one's whole being? God
has placed in many hearts a longing for a more personal experience with the
Holy. St. Paul writes that it is God who, in his good will toward us, begets in us
any measure of desire to achieve. ... “for it is God who works in you to will and to
act according to his good purpose” (Phil 2:13 NIV). In his book, Speak, Lord,
Your Servant Is Listening, Monsignor David E. Rosage speaks of the
transformational power of the Holy Spirit. He provides an examination of the
various levels on which the Holy Spirit operates:
- LEVEL ONE: Feelings. Most of our time is spent living on this level of
feeling. However, feelings do not always lead us to righteousness. Living only on
this level of feeling brings great turmoil. In order for the Holy Spirit to work
more deeply with us, our seed of faith must germinate and be nurtured.
- LEVEL TWO: Intellect. The Spirit also exerts influence on our
intellects. As we mature and become more open to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit
touches our minds so we can begin to comprehend God's trust. However, if we
rely solely on our intellect, we will experience difficulties. With our intellect we
can make some good judgments but reason alone cannot conquer vacillating,
unreliable emotions nor can it lead us to a deeper knowledge of God and his
ways.
- LEVEL THREE: Center/Heart. The Spirit of Jesus can move us
beyond our emotions and reason to the very center of ourselves where the Spirit
dwells and where spiritual maturity dwells and develops. God works most
profoundly in our hearts. Deep holy listening yearns to move towards this level
where God most profoundly works.
Solitude with the Lord and a sincere desire to know God and ourselves are
indispensable conditions for hearing the voice of the Lord. Here we are not
dependent on sensation and emotion. We move beyond intellectual or
theological knowledge of God, beyond head knowledge to heart knowledge. It is
in the center of our beings, in our hearts, where we fully recognize God as a
personal God. This level of knowing God is the gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s all gift!
When we LISTEN to God's Word and receive it into our hearts, the Holy Spirits
speaks to us with great clarity. St. Paul describes the fruit of this kind of
prayerful listening: "All Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching,
reproof, correction and training in holiness so that the man (and woman) of God
may be fully competent and equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16).
We cannot make it happen but we can put ourselves in a place of most potential
by creating a safe, disciplined quiet space.
All this is the work of the Holy Spirit;
therefore, we pray fervently: "Come, Holy Spirit."
As astounding as our achievements in communications may be, they are
dwarfed by another far superior and more magnificent means of communication
which requires neither batteries nor transistors. You and I can penetrate time
and space; we can go beyond all the miracles of technology. We can enter the
realm of the supernatural by communicating with the transcendent God, the
Creator of heaven and earth. Incredible as it may seem, we can be in direct
contact with the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe. The only
requirement is a listening, receptive heart.
What is even more incredible is that God wants to communicate with each
one of us personally. He wants it more than we desire it ourselves. Hearing from
God does not require any technical know-how or any modern, sophisticated
equipment. All that is necessary is a quiet, receptive heart. We need to give God
time, to come before him unprotected, to listen to him with our whole being.
This prompted the psalmist's counsel. "Be still and know that I am God” (Ps
46:10). "Leave it to the Lord, and wait for him” (Ps 37:7). "Wait for the Lord, and
keep his way" (Ps 37:34).
In his book, Stillness Speaks, Eckhart Tolle writes in his chapter on silence and
stillness:
"Do you need more knowledge? Is more information going to save the
world, or faster computers, more scientific or intellectual analysis? Is it not wisdom that humanity needs most at this time?But what is wisdom and where is it to be found? Wisdom comes with the
ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still,
looking and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions."
