MEDITATION:
Written by Karen Ehman, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her work “How to Hear a Heart-Drop.”
God knows what pains us and what brings us pleasure. He has access to our deepest longings for significance. He observes our desire to be noticed, accepted, validated and loved. But often God uses people to hear the cries of other people and respond with sincere love and care, to reach out and hearten another soul. If we will only learn to pay attention, to live alert. We can purpose to listen between the spoken words to understand what others are really feeling — and what they are trying to say. We reflect the love of Jesus as we seek to hear the heart-cries of another. May we become skilled at tuning our ears to the heart-drops of those around us and then responding with a thoughtful gesture. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate gift. It can be a kindly spoken word. A handwritten note. A loving text or encouraging comment left on social media. A shared heart over a cup of coffee. A brief moment where we put ourselves to the side for a moment to pause. To notice. To respond. To echo God’s heart toward them. Hearing a heart-drop is an art we must lovingly cultivate. It can lead to the most wonderful times of encouragement as we make it our habit to listen and to love.
PRAYER:
Today’s prayer is based on James 1:19 from Daily Prayer Guide.
Loving God, I ask that you help me control my thoughts. I want to be quick to hear and slow to speak. Give me the wisdom to listen and understand, not to just listen for purposes of responding. Give me the self-control to not respond in anger or get defensive, but apply the counsel of others. Amen.
Pathways Press.com 
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