Love that Listens

We live in a world that talks a lot but listens very little. Conversations move fast. Answers are rushed. Everyone has something to say, but not everyone feels heard. I didn't realize how rare it is to be truly listened to until a time in my life I didn't need advice, I just needed space to breathe.

I know you know that feeling too. When you're carrying more than you let on. On the outside, everything looks fine. But on the inside, you feel tired—emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. You have questions you don't know how to voice, and worries you don't know how to name. And like many of us, you keep telling yourself, I'm fine, I'll handle it. Have you ever had someone ask you "how you've been" and you give the usual answer... good, busy? BUT then they say, "but how are you really?" Then they wait, wait for you to answer honestly. No interruption. No advice. No story of their own. Just quiet space and steady eye contact. And before you knew it, the words you've been holding back spilled out. The honest doubts. The honest exhaustion. They didn't rush to fix anything. They didn't offer a sermon or solution. They listened. Fully. Kindly. Without judgement.

That's love. A love that listens.

A love that listens isn't loud or dramatic, it's present. Scripture reminds us, there's "a time to be quiet and a time to speak." Ecclesiastes 3:7 Loving someone well means knowing the difference. Recognizing when words are helpful, and when silence is the greatest kindness you can offer. A love that listens understands that not every moment needs commentary, or opinions. Sometimes it just needs presence. Listening doesn't look like doing something big, it looks like making room for their story. Choosing patience over productivity.

This week, show a love that listens to someone who needs it. Resist the urge to interrupt. Not every pain needs a response, and not every question needs an answer. Sometimes the most Christ-like thing we can do is sit in the silence and stay. You may not know the right words to say, and that's okay. Love doesn't require eloquence, it just requires availability. Someone around you needs to be heard today. Not told what to do, not rushed, just seen. And when we choose to listen, we reflect the heart of a God who hears us every time we speak.

SHE Walks in Faith

Ask God to help you listen the way He listens... to hear without judgment, to stay without rushing, and to love without needing to fix. A listening heart can be holy ground.

Here are a few ways you can practice a love that listens today.

• let someone finish their thought without interrupting

• put your phone down during conversations

• validate feelings before offering advice

• sit with someone in silence without trying to fill the space

• remember details and follow up later

• pray for people as they talk, and tell them you did

🩷 Prayer

God, thank You for listening to me even when I struggle to find the words. Teach me to listen with patience, humility, and compassion. Help me love others the way You love me—fully present and slow to speak. Amen.