When Christians listen for God’s word in Scripture, they learn to listen for God’s word in every conversation. They develop the skill of storytelling, of finding their place and role in the story, of recognising beginnings and endings, of seeing the author at work; and also the skill of listening, of realising how much more there is to discover, of fitting their own small story into the larger story of God. They practice the virtue of prophetic hope, the conviction that God has acted before to save his people and will act again to set them free. They learn the notions of revelation, of truth, of communal discernment, of authority, history, and tradition.
from Sam Wells, Improvisation