God is all that exists.

January 7, 2020

The God who is the source of all surrounds each of you with a Light that is loving, that is understanding, that is uplifting, that is always giving, and that is always listening. We’d like to address in some detail what is meant by a listening God. 

Since the beginning of human existence, there has always been a lingering inquisitiveness about why one exists. In search for an understanding of the “why,” countless efforts have been put together to answer that question. In the seeking, there has been a general understanding from all the great religions and spiritual thinkers that there is some form of life, some kind of energy, some kind of entity to which one can pray when needs are experienced. 

The concept of a single God or multiple Gods is not such a critical consideration when we consider the issue of listening. The God of which we speak consists of many Gods. Each of you is part of those many Gods. If it is helpful to think of the totality of the Spirit Center as being a singular center, so be it. If on the other hand, it has more meaning to think of the Spirit Center as being many centers, that is fine, too. What is really important is that this energy that you refer to as God, this entity, this presence, is a presence that not only exists but has an impact. 

We say that God is listening to your needs, that God listens to your prayers. In fact, as we have asserted numerous times, the reality is God does not respond because you ask for that response. God is responding, God is present, God’s energy is present whether or not you pray for it, but what prayer does is open each of you to be receptive to the Spirit Center, the Love that exists, so that you can become illuminated and warmed and buoyed, supported, comforted, and embraced by that presence. 

The listening, you see, that is referred to when speaking of God is not so much God listening but rather you listening. It is about the vision of your heart. It is seeing that presence of God with the heart. It is knowing of that presence. It is feeling that presence. The listening of God, therefore, is the listening of all that exists, and you are a part of that. God is the totality of all that exists. God is the energy that connects all that exists. God is that filament of spirit that joins the souls of everyone. 

When there is need, when you feel you wish to reach out and pray to God as you have done now, the entirety of all that exists is present and responds by a surrounding of your own individual souls. That is the only response that is a specific response of God. When you pray for peace, the strength of that peace for which you pray grows in its intensity, but the benefit of that strengthened presence is of little value unless you open yourselves to that for which you pray.

You pray for peace. That peace is at hand. You pray for compassion. The compassion surrounds each of you. You pray for patience. The energy of patience envelops all that you are. But that for which you pray is merely present. It is only for you to welcome that presence. 

For those who feel lonely and pray for companionship, they are surrounded by the spirits of many who reach out with loving companionship. The tragedy that may exist is that even in the presence of that offered companionship through love, the individual who prays for that may shut off and close the windows that would otherwise allow that energy to come flowing in. The strength, the presence of love that is God’s love is not something that is withheld, is not something which is kept in reserve, hidden away, denied. It is always present, and because the love of God is always present, it is not a matter of God listening and saying, “Oh, you wish to be loved, so therefore I will give you love.” That prayer for love is a prayer of being open to the love that is there. It is a prayer to be open to the companionship, the comfort, to the alleviation of anxiety, to the alleviation of pain. These are prayers that each of you has the capacity to be receptive to. 

The fact is, it is you, each of you, who are the listening ear, the listening heart of God. We say that it is essential that you become more sensitive to the needs of others. Why is that? Because you are part of that energy that surrounds the other who is in need, and in your praying, you are actually helping to open the windows of receptivity that belong to another in order for your presence to be a part of the total response that is always there. 

When you seek peace, do you look for someone who is peaceful? When you seek understanding, do you look for someone who is understanding? When you pray for patience, do you look for someone who shows patience? When you pray for an ability to be more compassionate, do you seek others who exercise compassion? When you pray for a release from pain, do you seek those who comfort? 

What we are suggesting here is that the listening God is really your own listening heart that is open to the loving reflection of God that is constantly present. When you have those needs and pray to a listening God, look beyond yourselves. Find evidence. Acknowledge that evidence, that person, those people, those ideas, whatever it may be that is an example of what it is you seek, and in your finding of those sources, you will become more aware of the listening God. 

Often human beings pray to a God to hear as they cry out and then wait for that answer. That waiting becomes a passive exercise, believing that somehow as a result of the prayer something magical happens from which experience the individual will say, “God heard my prayer.” It isn’t God. It is All That Exists that is present for your prayers, but it is you, each of you, who are empowered by your own spirit to open the windows and let the Light come in. 

You are the ears of God. You, each of you and collectively, are the listening God. You wish God to respond. The response is there before the wish is even considered.

When you pray that others may be open to God’s presence, that is an empowering sharing of spiritual energy with another. It is your prayer to God on behalf of another that in fact is felt by the soul of the other, and that soul is strengthened to become more willing to reach up to open the shutters. The sun is always shining. There is no moment when the light does not exist, but that sunshine of spirit is never forced upon another. It is only welcomed. 

You receive God’s light because you welcome it. You receive the love that is God because you welcome it. You receive more comfort because you welcome it. All that you pray for that reflects God’s presence you receive. You’re surrounded by all that is so reflective. 

Open your hearts. Allow the light in. Allow the presence to fill each of you to capacity. Consciously look for ways to be loving. Consciously see those moments when you are the recipient of that love. Turn your thoughts to welcoming and rely less on requesting. 

You are God. All are God. God listening means each of you is listening—listening to your own inner voice, listening with your heart to those around you—and it is in your listening that the response is made known. 

God listens because you listen. God responds because you respond. God loves because you love. God comforts because you comfort. Listen, therefore, at all times in your life, and you will know firsthand what it means to be in the presence of a listening God. 

God’s peace is yours. 

Amen.