Did you know that the average speed of an American person’s speech is 120 to 140 words per minute? Now if you live up north, it is probably a little faster but if you live in west Texas, the rate is 9. OK, just kidding – we do speak a little faster than that in west Texas. Having grown up here and lived here most of my life, I can say from experience that most west Texas folks talk a little slower than the average.
But, did you know that the average number of words per minute that a person can hear and comprehend is 300? Now I went to school for many, many years (just ask my wife), but I can tell you that math is not my strong suite. But even with that being the case, it would appear that we can hear and comprehend at about twice the speed of normal conversation.
You may be thinking, “So what?”
Here is my point – when we are carrying on a conversation, our minds often wander while the other person is talking. Since we can comprehend faster than the other person can speak, we have a tendency to begin to formulate what we will say next while the other person is still speaking. We have a tendency to jump ahead and try and determine what the person is about to say or is trying to communicate.
What this normally leads to is miscommunication due to our lack of really listening to the other person. James 1:19 says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” The importance is placed on the listening.
Think of all the problems that would be solved (probably before they even become problems) if we would focus more of our attention on truly listening and hearing the other person. Instead, we often jump to conclusions and build our own assumptions without ever really hearing the other person.
Following Jesus is about relationships – having a relationship with Jesus and also having relationships with others. The writer of James reminds us that if we are to have meaningful relationships with others, we must learn to listen.
Concentrate on listening today!
Clay in the Hands 
I always try to remind myself that God gave us TWO ears, and only ONE mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we talk! And of course, you know me, I don’t do it very well–that is why I keep trying to remind myself!
Thanks for your comment Melinda! I think I suffer from the same problem. Thanks for reading.