“How can I listen to God when there are so many other demands on my attention?”

If you work full time, and also have family obligations, it may be difficult to find even an hour a week in which to sit down, be quiet, and listen to God. He wants all our attention, and for us to listen with our whole hearts and beings. How does this accord with a busy life in which we fulfill our responsibilities to ourselves and others?

God looks at our hearts and our intentions. There is a potential distraction more severe than daily life: our divided loyalty. If we listen to God with only part of our being, and follow our own agenda with the rest of our hearts, minds, and souls, that non-listening component of ourselves is the true distraction.

This distraction would remain even if we sealed ourselves up in a cave or monastery, with the avowed intention of listening to God all day, every day. Therefore, we can listen to God “all the time,” by giving Him our whole hearts, minds, and souls. So even when daily life intervenes, filling all our time and attention, we can still preserve the most important part of our inner selves, ready to do whatever He requires.