Daily Devotion - Thursday, April 7

Are You Listening?

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

This week we continue to 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.

“Help me to listen to myself,
to still small voices of conscience, to whispers of faith,
and to the soft inner humming of hope.
Help me to learn to trust myself more than I do,
trust myself not because I am wise and good,
but because I am loved and wanted.
Help me to listen to the stranger who may be an angel is disguise,
to the friend who may be lonely and lost.
Help me to listen to the angry and the outraged
who may be saying to me words I need to hear.”

Divine presence and help is near. As we see Dr. Phifer’s requests simply stated, may each of us find our conversation with God a time of simply identifying the help we need to maintain the quiet center of our lives. A listening Creator can enable us to be better listeners. Have a good day.

--Ben Keckler
04.07.11