Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak, ELW 676 and LBW 403
1 Lord, speak to us, that we may speak
In living echoes of your tone;
As you have sought, so let us seek
Your straying children, lost and lone.
2 Oh, lead us, Lord, that we may lead
The wand'ring and the wav'ring feet;
Oh, feed us, Lord, that we may feed
Your hung'ring ones with manna sweet.
3 Oh, teach us, Lord, that we may teach
The precious truths which you impart;
And wing our words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many-a heart.
4 Oh, fill us with your fullness, Lord,
Until our very hearts o'erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Your love to tell, your praise to show.
Devotion
How are we to respond to critics of the faith? With our words, and with our hearts. And, like Jesus, we may be surprised by who hears our words and comes to believe. One of the amazing things about the Holy Spirit is that though we do not know the effect our witness, our words, our actions, our very presence will have on others, God still manages to use us – flawed and inarticulate though we may sometimes be – to stir the hearts of others.
This hymn reminds me that when we center our lives in God, asking God to guide us in our everyday decisions and interactions, God will show us the way to live. In fact … in our Lord Jesus, God’s word made flesh, God already has.
Prayer
Lord, use my mouth, my mind, my hands, my feet and my heart today to show someone who does not yet know you your love. Amen.