Listening to Others
“Give ear to my words, O Lord;
give heed to my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry, O my God,
for to you I pray.”
--From Psalm 5
We continue praying through a prayer by Kenneth Phifer entitled, “I Need to Listen”. The verses of the Psalm introduce us to a person who desires that God hear his/her prayers. The theme of Rev. Phifer’s prayer is for God to empower him to be a better listener. We have prayed the singing and sobbing world sections. Today we move to the shouting world. Take time this week seeking to become better listeners to all the voices in the world.
“Lord, this is a shouting world.
There are voices of rage and of protest.
There are voices of defiance and of contempt.
How carefully I sift out the shouting, ignore the screaming.
Make me listen, O God, I pray.
You are the Creator of us all, and sometimes the voices of anger carry messages from you.
Enable me to be a listener, I ask. For in listening I may find direction and guidance.”
From the comfort and relative quiet of our surroundings we catch sound bytes of the world's people shouting at us, trying to understand us AND trying to have us understand them. I trust that we will attentively listen so that the global village can experience greater unity.
Today as I work in the hospital, the shouting will be muffled, weakened by disease. But the shouting will still be very present. Wherever you are today, listen closely to shouts and screams, sometimes softened so much that we can easily miss them. God bless you.
--Ben Keckler
04.21.10
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