MONDAY

SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 6:4

What comes first for you? It is a question worth pondering.

In the introduction to his book The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction, Adam McHugh begins with three words: “LISTENING COMES FIRST.” He writes that in this life we listen even before we realize it. From the womb, a child listens to the voices of parents. After birth, that child hears words spoken, whispered, and sung until one day those words are echoed back, one imperfect syllable at a time. Even the primeval universe, he suggests, has an ear. Its first act is to listen to the Voice that pierces the darkness. God speaks light, and creation hears and responds.

The centerpiece of Israel’s prayer life, the Shema, begins with the same call: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). You become a disciple by hearing. Listening is the first act of discipleship. James echoes this when he urges believers to be quick to listen and slow to speak. This, McHugh says, is the pattern life itself commands.

Our passage today begins with that same invitation to listen. The question is simple: What are you hearing?

As you reflect on Deuteronomy 6:4 and McHugh’s words, consider the following:

• In your daily interactions, do you find yourself more focused on being understood or on understanding others? Why do you think that is?

• If you asked those around you which posture you most often take, would their answer match yours? • What changes in a conversation when listening comes first?

• How might your conversations with family or close friends be different if listening truly led the way?

• In your personal time with God through prayer or devotion, are you more inclined to speak or to listen?

• What would it look like for listening to become primary in your relationships with others and in your attentiveness to the world around you?

Take a few moments to share with God in prayer about what it might mean to prioritize, or at least give a prominent place to, listening over speaking; hearing over being heard. Be sure to take some time to “hear” what God may be saying to you in response.