A Prayer of Active Listening

Isaiah 30:15
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength."

Isaiah 32:17
The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

A pleading heart, a mind of unrest and anxiety, a constant request for God's will, blessing, and strength; these are so often the pleas from my soul to my God.
Anxiousness is not peace, stillness, or quietness. Fear robs our prayers of faith and trust--
it is a desperate need for control, that even in talking to God, we say the same prayer over and over, we make the same pleas repeatedly as if our God is hard of hearing. How often are our prayers truly to God and not just for our own selfish desires of peace and control.

So often in the Bible is the word stillness, quietness, gentleness, and peacefulness and yet my prayers fall short of these attributes. Prayer is communication. Part of communication is listening and yet we focus so much on the talking aspect. I am so ready to ask God about my life and share with Him the desires and longings of my heart but so rarely am I ready to listen. Do we pray with the true intent of finding answers, of hearing God's direction? When you ask God a question are you prepared to listen for His answer?

Do you have faith and trust that the answer you ask for may not be the answer you want to hear? Do you believe your God is all knowing, all powerful, knows you better than you know yourself, and has your best interest at heart?

So often I pray in love but lack the trust. Patience and waiting are active qualities--they are not giving up, they are not easy--they take work, it is a constant state of mind of being prepared for every time anxiety creeps in, to step back and know that God has already stepped up to the plate for you.

Are you ready to listen?
Are you prepared for the quiet?
Will you be ready when God answers your prayers?
Will you trust in His answer?