The great movement of the spiritual life is from a deaf, nonhearing life to a life of listening.

When we are spiritually deaf, we are not aware that anything important is happening in our lives. We keep running away from the present moment, and we try to create experiences that make our lives worthwhile. So we fill up our time to avoid the emptiness we otherwise would feel. When we are truly listening, we come to know that God is speaking to

Prayer of the Psalmist: “I am your servant; O, God, grant me discernment, that I may understand your statutes” (Ps. 119:125).

Henri emphasized that Christian discernment is not the same as decision making. Reaching a decision can be straightforward: we consider our goals and options; maybe we list the pros and cons of each possible choice; and then we choose the action that meets our goal most effectively. Discernment, on the other hand, is about listening and responding

We ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord. —Colossians 1:9–10 NRSV Discernment is a spiritual understanding and an experiential knowledge of how God is active in daily life that is acquired through disciplined spiritual practice. Discernment

When we accept our complete belovedness, we stop judging ourselves and other people; as a result, other people begin to feel safe with us. When we open the hospitality of our hearts to the Spirit, the Spirit frees us to extend hospitality to our fellow humans and all God’s creation. The Spirit’s hospitality becomes ours, and we experience the

God speaks to us all the time and in many ways, but it requires spiritual discernment to hear God’s voice, see what God sees, and read the signs in daily life. —Henri Nouwen

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, more than two hundred years after his death, still speaks to me about what he called the “sacrament of the present moment.” In his little book on prayer, he assures us that God is speaking and revealing his will in every moment of every day, and that we can discern God’s presence and guidance through simple prayers each

There is wisdom from the fourth-century monks of the Egyptian desert: “Do not combat the demons directly.” The wise ones of the desert felt that a direct confrontation with the forces of evil required such spiritual maturity that few would be ready for it. Instead of paying so much attention to the prince of darkness, they advised their disciples