Preaching outline on God always hears us (taking the second path, above)

• Many of us live in environments that are filled with plenty of sound
  • The sounds of
    • Children playing, laughing, crying, screaming
    • Streets filled with hustle and bustle
    • Wildernesses of gentle breezes, pouring rains, deafening silence
    • Conversations with friends, arguments with loved ones, passionate positions being shared
    • Prayers being offered, praises sung to God, laments from the heart
  • There are times when what we say seems to go unheard, no matter how loud we might be
    • Injustices that render too many voiceless in communities
    • Pleas to loved ones expressing our deepest desires
    • Conversations with God that make us wonder if God is actually listening
• Do we hear or are we really listening?
  • https://www.verywellmind.com/hearing-vs-listening-what-s-the-difference-5196734
  • Hearing and listening are not the same thing
    • Hearing is passive, involuntary, and something that doesn’t require a whole lot of effort
    • Listening is a choice, something that requires attention, an action that requires us to make sense of the sounds, the words, that reverberate within our minds and hearts 
  • As social beings we want to be listened to, and to live fully and authentically 
  • In community active listening is necessary
• How and what we hear is complex
  • The ear is an intricately composed organ that gives meaning to the vibration of sound
  • The brain makes sense of what we hear
  • But hearing loss is real: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss
  • Our listening practices influence how and what we hear
    • For some, hearing loss can be avoided
    • Living in a “loud” world challenges our ability to really hear, and give meaning to, what we are experiencing
• God both hears and listens
  • The Psalmist says (Ps 138): “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth”; “When I called you answered me”
  • God listens to the words that come forth from our mouths, our hearts, our souls
  • God hears not just what we voice, God listens to the deeper desires that sometimes we do not have the words to express
    • God listens to the lament
    • God listens to the pain
    • God listens to the joy
    • God listens to the need
• We are called to listen as God listens
  • With God, it’s not about our loudness—it’s about the desires of our hearts
  • God actively listens to what we express, not out of obligation but instead out of true love
  • Like God, we are called to hear the voices of our sisters and brothers by listening to what those around us are trying to express
  • We listen actively, with open hearts and minds
  • We listen so that we can truly hear the deeper desires of those near and far from us
  • Our listening allows us to be the help for those in need of answers, support, care
  • Actively listening that leads to genuine concern makes God present to what we and others voiceThe effect of being listened to is the feeling that we are never alone!