Listening closely, what do you hear right now? Is there anything sinking into your ears (Luke 9:44)? What about your kids? What are they hearing at this moment?
Our hearing is the only sense we really have no control over voluntarily. True, I can stop my ears with my hands, but, generally, all this does is mute the sounds; to prevent the sound from coming into me, I have to leave the area of the offensive sound...or stay, let it sink in, and figure out my relationship to the sound.
So, what does this have to do with prayer and God breaking into us through our senses? I will leave that to you and your kids to discuss. However, what I am interested in is training the senses in prayer.
Hopefully, it is clear that tiny moments of attention can become huge experiences of God in prayer. For a tiny moment of hearing and training your listening, I hope you enjoy the following highlights from Six Evolutions-Bach Cello Suites by Yo-Yo Ma. The cello has a range similar to the human voice, and can begin training you in letting sounds "sink into your ears." Can you hear it or are you listening?
There are many other beautiful works by other artists, so use this idea as your starting point and explore! The ability to send your listening attention where you are invited by the Holy Ghost is a life-long habit for you and your kids.
CHALLENGE: Turn this album on in the car or randomly in the house without warning to your kids, and log their response. It may take a few times of turning it on for them to change from hearing into listening. Be persistent and wait to see what God does...
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