Listening

I read that the root Latin word for obedience means "listening intently."  This makes sense to me.  How am I going to follow directions if I don't listen intently?  My ego driven self-centeredness will get in the way if I don't listen.  I think this is why meditation, prayer of listening, is recommended for all people who are trying to be on a spiritual path.  For believers who don't have this prayer of listening, their ego begins to play God and tells them what to do.  This gives religion a bad name and bad advertising.  It becomes a place where we find a lot of silliness being expressed as the will of God, when in fact it is simply self-will run riot.