The first thing a worker of the Lord has to learn is to listen to others. When a brother or a sister is speaking or when an unbeliever is speaking, we have to learn to listen. We have to learn to think the way he thinks, and feel the way he feels. We have to know what he has not said and the condition of his spirit. If we practice this, our listening ability will greatly improve. Gradually, we will understand what others are saying. In the end, others will need to only open their mouth, and we will know immediately what they are saying. We must remember that our inner being must be like a spotless piece of blank paper before others can write on it. We must be in perfect stillness, void of our own thoughts, our own subjective opinions, and our own feelings, before we can listen quietly to others and understand what they are saying. The most important thing related to a worker is not his measure of knowledge but the person of the worker himself. Our person is our very instrument. God is using us to measure others. If our person is wrong, God cannot use us. We are not measuring others with something physical. It would be so much easier if we had something physical with which we could measure others. A thermometer can measure a person's temperature. But in the Lord's work, the only "thermometer" is our person. We have to find out the condition of others ourselves. It matters a great deal, therefore, as to the kind of person we are. If our person is wrong, nothing will work. We are the vessels of God. If a vessel does not function properly, God cannot use it to deal with others. Listening is a very crucial matter. If we can listen to others, know their condition, and get into their thoughts and feelings, we will have a way to help them.
Suppose a man comes to you and pours out his grievances. If you have never been dealt with by the Lord, you will surely want to pass on many teachings to him. Typically, this is our habit. When others come to us, we open our mouth immediately and give them some teaching, before even trying to realize their sickness or understand their ailment. Many people are too impatient to let others finish speaking. They cannot wait for others to finish speaking before they come up with their solutions. Others only have to say two or three words before they will offer their teachings and corrections. As a result, others do not receive any genuine help.
This does not mean that we should let people talk for three to five hours while we sit in silence and listen. Some people expect others to listen to them for three to five hours. They want us to listen to them. We should stop these ones from their incessant talking. However, generally speaking, we should give others enough time to speak, and we should give ourselves enough time to listen. If one has many years of experience in this matter and is clear within, if he can discern the condition of others as soon as they speak, and if he knows what should be done, he can stop this incessant speaking. Otherwise, he should spend an adequate amount of time to listen to them. I am not saying that he has to spend three to five hours to listen to others, but I am saying that he should allow ample time to understand their condition. We have to realize the complexity of our work; we are dealing with living human beings, and we are tackling living problems. We are here to deal with a person's problem before the Lord. If we are not able to identify others' problems, we will not be able to say much. It is impossible to make judgments before fully understanding what is involved in others' problems. We are dealing with living human beings, so we are dealing with living problems. As we are dealing with a person's problem before God, we should be still and quiet to receive something from the Lord. Unless we can do this, we will encounter problems in rendering help to him. Many people cannot render help to others because they do not know how to listen to them in the first place. We need to ask for grace from the Lord so that we can sit down and listen to others when they speak. We need to listen quietly, intelligently, and attentively until we fully understand. Once we understand what they are saying, the job is done. We must learn to listen, and we must listen until we understand. It is not an easy thing to speak, and it is no less difficult to listen. Many preachers are accustomed to speaking, but they find it difficult to sit down and listen. However, we must learn this lesson well.