Those who have an ear let them hear

I'm in Hope JB now. Apparently it was said to have the highest mobilisation rate (evax, shepherding and prayer meeting attendance >90%) among all the Hope churches in Malaysia. Intimidating at first glance to me.

I won't comment much about the part where I don't understand 99% of what is being said coz I'm a banana who doesn't know much Mandarin. Neither will I say much of people asking Ben (who is going to Church of Praise) and myself why in the world do we have to go so far away and to all the trouble to attend church when there are 2 located nearby where we stay (it's actually 20 minutes drive - which can become 2 hours during rush hour [ie prayer meeting and caregroup time])

But what I want to say is that their prayer meeting (PM) is pretty different from PJ. In PJ, its once every fortnight, and starts at 8.00pm with some pre-PM prayer, then praise and worship, then comes a little bit of scripture sharing, then leaders / pastor will share what to be prayed for, and we will go on praying for the next hour plus or so. It normally finishes at around 10.30pm.

In JB last night, we finished at 11.00pm after starting at 8.00pm. Apparently, if pastor was there, it might go beyond midnight every week! And instead of praying, 80% of the time was spent listening to pastor's sharing (like a lecture), which, for someone who doesn't understand Mandarin like me, is tedious, and can sometimes become boring as it stretches on:p

It was at this time, however, that this piece of advice came to mind;
"Anybody who has a mouth can pray. But being a good listener is a skill which not everybody has. We need to hear more from God to know Him better. The same goes for medical students and doctors. How will you know the patients' feelings and problems plus how to manage them properly if you don't pay attention?"

John 10:27 - My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.