Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 676)
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 thy may reach
the hidden depths of many a heart.
4 Oh, fill us with your fullness, Lord,
until my very hearts o’erflow
in kindling thought and glowing word,
your love to tell, your praise to show.
Text: Frances R. Havergal; Music: Robert Schumann; Public Domain
Devotion
The opening verses of this hymn express a prayer that we will be spoken to, led, fed, and taught. Verse 4 asks, “What comes next?”
The end of verse 3 actually anticipates this beautifully as it points to the truth that a word, once received, doesn’t stay put. It moves. It enters into a neighbor’s story, a hard conversation, a stranger’s need. And so, in the final verse of this hymn, we pray that we would be so filled with God’s word that our hearts would overflow.
Overflow is exactly the right image, I think. It’s not about effort or obligation. It’s just what happens when a heart has actually been filled. So may we be filled to overflowing today so that we might be sentinels of God’s abundant grace: in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and wherever love finds something to do.
Prayer
Lord, fill us until what we’ve received overflows into the world. Amen.