David Limiero
About a year ago, I attended a liturgical worship service. Think robes, candles, incense. The words and rhythms were new to me. And then I heard the priest say these words: “Be attentive!” Then came the Gospel reading. Again, right before the communion elements were presented: “Be attentive!” At least four more times during the liturgy, the priest spoke the same words to the congregation: “Be attentive!” Again, and again: “Be attentive.”
I later learned that there is no fixed number of times the priest says this. While most of the words of the liturgy have been the. same for 1700 years, he says this phrase, “Be attentive!” as often as needed. And that’s the point.
For most in that room, the words were routine: heard week after week, for years or decades. The call to “Be attentive!” had, for some, lost its power to catch their actual attention.
But not for me. I was hearing it for the first time: “Be attentive!” The words did exactly what they were meant to do. They made me attentive.
I don’t hear the same liturgy every week, but I’ve been walking with God for 42 years. I read the same Bible passages year after year. The words, “Be attentive!” caused me to wonder: How often am I truly attentive to scripture? How often has familiarity dulled my hearing so I’m no longer paying attention?
The Bible calls us to pay attention, be attentive, listen, or hear roughly 125 times. God keeps repeating the invitation. Perhaps because He knows how easily we drift.
We live in what many call an “attention economy.” Phone notifications, social media algorithms, constant content–all competing for our focus. In the noise, how often do we miss what God is saying, not because He’s silent, but because we’ve given our attention elsewhere? How often are we attentive not just in Bible reading or church services, but in all of life?
My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart. Proverbs 4:20-21
“Pay attention to what I say. Turn your ear to my words.” The command is simple. The practice takes intention. A new start requires fresh ears.
Listening Prompt
God, is there anything You would like to highlight that I’ve stopped noticing?
