The Piano Lesson - Practice, Practice, Practice (Part Trois)

The Piano Lesson - Practice, Practice, Practice (Part Trois)

WHEN YOU’RE READING new music, searching for keys, counting the rhythm in your head, and thinking about your date come Friday night, it’s hard to hear yourself play. You hear the notes, but you don’t always get a full grasp of the melody. And if you’ve been working on a particularly difficult score for a while, you’re often unsure if you’re making any progress. Thus, one of the most productive things you can do when you practice is to tape yourself playing.

Sitting quietly and listening is enlightening. And so it is with prayer.

God speaks to me. Quite often. No, I don’t hear the big booming voice that Charlton Heston heard as Moses in the movie The Ten Commandments. It’s more of a big booming thump of my heart accompanied by thoughts that I know didn’t get in my head all by themselves. But I only get these thoughts, accompanied by this percussion, when I have asked God for clarity, direction, and discernment. Then I go for a run. And listen. Sometimes he answers pretty quickly; other times he doesn’t talk back to me for weeks (or at least I perceive that he hasn’t yet given me direction). But eventually, he makes his will and desire known to me.

A couple of my girlfriends told me they were confused and a little jealous that God never speaks to them. They would say, “I can’t tell what God’s trying to say to me.” Speaking the truth in love, I encourage them to shut up for a while. If you stop asking over and over and over and then whining, again and again and again, you might get some clarity in the form of direction.

You can be sure of this: The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him. (Psalm 4:3)

But you have to be listening and prepared to listen when he picks up the phone. Glory be!