How Listening Grows Your Daughter’s Love for God

Why Listening Is Holy Ground

When dads and daughters zero in on each other, eternity shifts a little closer. Years ago, at one of our Father-Daughter Summits, Scott showed up hoping to bridge the gap with his younger daughter Emily. He thought he was a pretty involved dad—until Emily gently said, “Dad, I don’t feel like you really listen to me.”

The words stung, but Scott swallowed his pride, prayed a silent “Lord, teach me,” and asked Emily to design a weekly, phone-free meeting where she could talk and he would simply hear her heart. Fifteen minutes grew into thirty, once a week grew into twice, and conversation about homework turned into dialogue about hope, fears, and faith.

Today Emily is married with kids of her own, yet the two still keep that sacred appointment—often talking Scripture, life decisions, and God’s fingerprints on ordinary days.

Listening: The Fast Lane to Spiritual Influence

• Presence Preaches. When you drop the phone, your daughter sees a living parable of how God listens without distraction.
• Questions Cultivate Wonder. “What’s God teaching you right now?” invites her to reflect aloud and strengthens her discernment.
• Silence Strengthens Trust. Allowing pauses tells her she’s worth waiting for, and models how to wait on the Lord.

Making It Happen—Starting This Week

1. Schedule the Sacred. Block 20 minutes on both calendars. Treat it like a doctor’s appointment you never miss.
2. Clear the Noise. Devices off, TV muted, eyes locked. Outdoor walks or porch swings work wonders.
3. Pray First, Speak Second. A one-sentence prayer—“Jesus, help us hear each other”—turns the chat into worship.
4. Let Her Lead. Use prompts only if needed: High of the week? Low? Where did you see God today?
5. Seal with Blessing. Close every session by calling out one strength you see God growing in her.

Summit Stories: Proof It Works

• “I didn’t know how special I was to my dad.”
• “I forgave my dad and I’m ready to move on.”
• “We got beyond the superficial.”

Each testimony echoes Deuteronomy 6:7—faith is forged “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road.” A dad’s consistent, humble attention becomes the pulpit from which daughters learn the gospel is both spoken and demonstrated.

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