Faith Listening

By Jo Anne Grace Ph.D.

Faith Listening focuses on Who God is and What God is doing. What if God is The Author and we are the living text? What if God is writing His:story on the tablets of our human hearts? What if we are witnesses to the Mystery of God present in and among us? Faith Listening is a toolkit of practical strategies to connect you with God and to bring about reconciliation and healing. It is a refreshing way to live by faith and find meaning. The adventure awaits!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664287082

Jo Anne Grace Ph.D.

Jo Anne Grace, Ph.D. is a pastoral theologian, a spiritual director, a hospice chaplain, and a health educator. Her private practice focuses on Pneumasomatic CareTM … a ministry of reconciliation and healing. This ministry integrates Spirit and body to bridge the gap between theology and physiology, between faith and health. Dr. Grace specializes in brain health to counteract the effects of stress, trauma, and compassion fatigue. She connects physical reality with spiritual certainty by teaching people practical skills to move through their pain and fear. Jo Anne lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where she attends St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. You can contact Dr. Grace at [e-mail] and visit her website at joanne-grace.com.

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Copyright © 2023 Jo Anne Grace, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Interior Image Credit: Jill Modesitt

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8707-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8708-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022923297

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/18/2023

This book is dedicated to the Glory of God as revealed through family, friends, and clients. They have taught me that God can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. May it be so for you as you as you journey through the pages of this book.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION | Connecting with God

CHAPTER 1 | The Body/Whole and the Simplicity of Need

Practice Guide: Chapter 1

CHAPTER 2 | The Body/Physical and the Signal of Pain

Practice Guide: Chapter 2

CHAPTER 3 | The Body/Mental and the Capacity of the Mind

Practice Guide: Chapter 3

CHAPTER 4 | The Body/Emotional and the Purpose of the Emotions

Practice Guide: Chapter 4

CHAPTER 5 | The Body/Behavioral and the Intent of Behaviors

Practice Guide: Chapter 5

CHAPTER 6 | The Body/Spiritual and the Symbol of Dreams

Practice Guide: Chapter 6

CONCLUSION | Discerning God’s Presence

ADDENDUM A | Discovering God’s Name

ADDENDUM B | Compassionate Listening

ADDENDUM C | Making a Difference

NOTES

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION | Connecting with God

Be reconciled to God

—2 Corinthians 5:20

Faith Listening connects you with God. God is actively present in the world today. Whether in times of joy or sadness and in times of trauma or celebration, God is there. Faith Listening links the reality of human life with the certainty of God’s Life-Giving Spirit. By following a basic ABC pattern of discernment, you will know Who God is and How God is acting in your life.

What is discernment except the embrace of God acting in and through creation? ¹ Discernment is an active process in which a person tunes into the Mystery of God at work. It calls upon wonderment and imagination. Faith Listening is a discernment skill that opens a door to respond to God’s Action. It provides an avenue to respond soulfully to God, rather than reacting solely to humans. It does not change the fact that something has happened, but rather it invites a new creation and a new meaning.

Faith Listening asks that we bring our human stories into the reflective light of the revelation of God from Genesis to Revelation. It takes seriously Paul’s mandate, Be reconciled to God!

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view. So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation, everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. So, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us, we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:16–20).

I met with Tom, age thirty-eight, who was injured on the job and complained of chronic back pain. Although his pain was high and his medication offered some relief, his suffering was greater. In the past, he found comfort by going to church. Tom told me, But now, when I walk into a church, all I see is the cross. Then, he said, I know the cross represents Jesus, His agony and passion, and Jesus points to God who is his Father, but all I see is my father who is cross. His angry words at the dinner table and his rage still flood my body after all these years. I cannot seem to get over it. I feel cut off from God. Listening to his story through the ears of faith, in which God is the subject, I asked him, What is your greatest need? Tom thought for a moment, let out a sigh, and replied, Comfort! I said, Isn’t God the Comforter? He said, Yes, the Comforter is the Holy Spirit! Then, together we brainstormed other stories about God Who comforted His people. Tom took a deep, relaxing breath when he heard Jesus’s words: And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever (John 14:16). Somewhere deep inside, a change occurred. Only Tom could explain it when he was ready. So, I asked him to continue breathing in and out while saying to himself a simple Breath Prayer: Blessed be God, The Comforter. We sat in quiet reflection while each of us prayed inwardly the Breath Prayer. Tom focused on God and experienced the reality of being reconciled to a God he could grasp amidst his suffering.

This is just one of the many stories you will read that demonstrate the practicality of Faith Listening. Faith Listening is a learned skill. Its purpose is to discern Who God is and What God is doing in the context of human stories. In its simplest form, it identifies the human need and makes a connection to God who supplies our every need (Philippians 4:19–20). In its more complex form, physical pain, emotional anguish, mental distress, behavioral trouble, or spiritual suffering points to the dynamic pneumasomatic ² action of integrating God’s Life with human experiences and relationships.

Perhaps you noticed that the ancient spiritual practice of blessing God was used as a Breath Prayer in Tom’s case above. Faith Listening encourages the use of a Blessing Prayer and the extension of a Blessing Litany as a prayer of adoration, an alternative prayer form to petition and intercession. Matilda states in her story, found in Chapter 1, Now I don’t have to worry! I guess we both needed the God of Peace. This Blessing Prayer … it is like petition and intercession rolled into one.

Faith Listening was developed at the request of health professionals who wanted to learn how to integrate health and spirituality. Those who are in physical pain and spiritual distress have benefited from practicing Faith Listening. It was further refined when pastors and pastoral counselors wanted to know how to encourage wholeness of body, soul, and spirit. Those who are emotionally upset, mentally suffering, or behaviorally trapped have found reconciliation and healing. Over the course of the past forty years, many who wanted a closer walk with God or who asked, Where is God? Why me? have experienced a deeper relationship and been reunited with God. Practically speaking, the ability to hear with the ears of faith has been beneficial to those who have lost their faith or have no faith.

What is faith except the Mystery of God at work? Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11). Faith is a response to God who is the subject of faith. Faith bears witness to the fact that the unseen reality of God is ever present in the human condition of experiences and relationships. "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the L

ORD

thy God is with thee wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

When we listen to stories with the ears of faith, we hear Who God is and