Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me and heal my deafness. Help me to hear the cries of the hurting. Help me to hear what is behind the cries of the needy. Help me to hear what is happening when spiritual manipulators ply their trade. May I hear words that others would drown out. May I hear what is really being said by bewitching words. Help me to discern false prophets; may I not fall into their snares. Help me to hear the whispers of Your Spirit. Help me to hear Your voice in all of creation. May I hear Your voice in beauty. You, whose name is Word, speak to me.
“Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. (Mark 7:31–35 ESV).
