Teach me to listen

Teach me to listen, Lord
To those nearest me
My family, my friends, my co-workers
Help me to be aware that
No matter what words I hear
The message is,
“ Accept the person I am, Listen to me.”

Teach me to listen, Lord
To those far from me
The whisper of the hopeless
The plea of the forgotten
The cry of the anguished.

Teach me to listen, Lord
To myself
Help me to be less afraid
To trust the voice inside
In the deepest part of me.

Teach me to listen, Lord
For your voice
In busyness and in boredom
In certainty and in doubt
In noise and in silence
Teach me, Lord, to listen.

                                        - Anonymous