Can You Listen to God?

Here’s a quote on listening to God from a secular leader, Steven Sample, author of The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2002), a book I highly recommend:

“…when making really important decisions, a contrarian leader listens carefully to his conscience, or if he is religious, to his God. The operative word here is listen. When most people try to carry on a conversation with their inner voice, (be it the voice of God or conscience), they wind up doing all the talking. That’s because we naturally fear our inner voice — we’re afraid it might tell us something we don’t want to hear. Nonetheless, listening carefully to that voice for 20 minutes or so through contemplative prayer or silent meditation is often a key factor in making good decisions in the long run.” (p. 89)

Sample is the president of the University of Southern California, from where my daughter just graduated. I’ve appreciated the chance to watch his leadership of that institution from the sidelines