Length: 30-40 mins

Explore some of the Biblical basis for the missional habit of listening and discuss it with your group.

Link to printable version coming soon

The habit of listening is all about journeying with others as a learner.

Theologian David Ausberger once said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.” In a culture that moves at the pace of a scrolling TikTok feed, few people take the time to slow down and hear what those around them have to say.

Listening to someone else’s experience is a much-needed antidote to the polarization and isolation around us. As we listen, we can learn and discern what is in the hearts of our friends, and knowing this, we can serve them and echo the gospel to them in the ways that they most need. Listening is perhaps more important now than ever.

Listening in the Bible

Read the following verses together, reading each passage twice in a row. One suggestion is that group members make notes about what they observe about prayer in each verse.

  • Psalm 116:1–2

  • Proverbs 18:13

  • Proverbs 20:5

  • Lamentations 3:55–57

  • Mark 10:46-52

  • Acts 17:22-23

  • James 1:9

Discussion Questions

  • What are some of the ideas about listening that you noticed in these verses?

  • How would you summarize God’s heart for listening as you understand it, from these verses and the rest of Scripture?

  • What does this habit look like in your life right now? What can you celebrate in this area?

  • Where is there room for growth in your practice of listening?

  • How does knowing God's heart for listening well lead you to action?

  • What’s one next step you could take this week in the area of listening?