Daily Devotion - Friday, April 8

Are You Listening?

“Listen to the sound of my cry O my God,
for to you I pray.”
--From Psalm 5

Today we conclude our work through a prayer by Kenneth Phifer entitled, “I Need to Listen”. The verse of the Psalm introduces 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. It seems these two themes are quite congruent. I trust we can emerge as better listeners because of a prayer to the Great Listener, our Holy God.

“Steady me, O God, as a listener.
And when I speak, make me careful lest I use words as weapons
and language as a severing sword.
Enable me to sort out what I hear and not be thrown off balance
when the tongue of another is careless.
When prejudice and passion weight the words I hear with divisiveness and conflict,
give me sense enough to reject them.
Grant me judgment and common sense to cut through words
that evade and distort lest I be misled.
Steady me, O Lord, as I learn to listen. Amen.”

Divine presence and help is near. Have a good day and weekend listening to the voices of those around us.

--Ben Keckler
04.08.11