Daily Devotions - Tuesday, June 24

Vertical Listening

“God said to Moses,
I AM who I AM.”
--From the life of Moses, Exodus 3: 14

Active listening is an important activity for everyone to practice. Active listeners believe that the words of the other person are more important than their own stories.

It happens horizontally -- by that I mean the listening we do when relating to others, whether they be family members, friends or persons we meet. It also happens vertically. Today I want to encourage us to spend a few moments thinking about the vertical nature of active listening. By that I mean the listening we do as we practice our spirituality, regardless of our religious background.

When Moses heard the words, “I AM who I AM,” he probably spent the rest of his life struggling with understanding the fullness of those words. Active listening to divine leading can empower us in the tasks and routines of the day. Just this morning I wanted to grab a CD to listen to on the way to work. I grabbed one but, after taking a couple of steps, was compelled to go back and pick up a different one. While listening to this a capella group, my pager went off and I called the hospital. As I listened (horizontally) to the staff person, I realized that I had received a vertical prompting in my choice of CD for the morning. Coincidence? Listening to my gut? Maybe. I am comfortable if you want to view it as that and trust that you can be comfortable with my spiritual interpretation of the happenings.

To take time with the great “I AM,” to actively listen to the inner prompting and to respond without needing all the answers, is what vertical listening is all about. Henri Nouwen writes these words about our horizontal and vertical listening: “As long as we live on this earth, our lives will be marked by compassion.” Enjoy listening to the great “I AM.”

--Ben Keckler
06.24.08