What wonderful prayer time we bowhunters know in the woods! The quiet, the closeness to God's creation, the solitude, the presence of so much that we love and value, naturally turns our thoughts to Him from whom come all good gifts.

In my very first Bowhunting.net column, I said there are no atheists in tree-stands, and went on to discuss what it is like to talk to God in the woods.

Last weekend at Robert's place, it occurred to me that I forgot to mention the other half of prayer. It's something bowhunters already do all the time in the woods; I just don't know if we think to apply it to prayer. Want a hint? Think of prayer as a conversation, and then imagine a conversation in which you did all the talking. How inspired, blessed, or interested would the other person be? And if the other person had wonderful things to say to you, how would you hear if all you did were talk?

The ancient monastic Rule of St. Benedict calls Christians to prayer by calling them to "Listen, with the ear of the heart." This is the other half of prayer.

As I said, bowhunters already listen hard when in the woods. We listen to birds announce the onset of dawn. We listen for the wind. We listen to grunts and rattles that tell us the deer are up and moving. We listen for stealthy hooves stepping through the dry leaves. We listen for the dreaded cough-blow-and-gallop that tells us our cover's been blown.

So, since we're so good at listening, why don't we try listening just as much as we talk when we are praying? Get rid of the notion that prayer is "talking to God", and resolve to have fewer one-sided conversations with Him. You'll be amazed what He's been just waiting to tell you.

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