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A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Archdeacon of Bangor, Mary Stallard.

Good morning. In an age of a strong opinions and deep divisions, perhaps one of the most useful but underrated skills is that of listening.

If you鈥檝e experienced someone really listening to you, you might agree how comforting it can be to feel heard: to have another person give you their undivided attention is to receive a powerful gift.

Recently I鈥檝e become more aware of what a poor listener I can be: I use a daily prayer app on my phone each morning, but frequently my mind wanders and I鈥檝e no idea at all about what I鈥檝e just heard. Sometimes I鈥檝e had to replay it five times before I鈥檝e actually listened.

And a recent experience of listening to an audiobook read by the author, a man with whom I strongly disagree, is teaching me something else: At the beginning I wanted to shout out every few minutes telling him why he鈥檚 wrong. But after many hours of listening, to my surprise I鈥檝e begun to notice a subtle change. As I鈥檝e grown familiar with his voice, I haven鈥檛 changed my mind about the subject but I鈥檓 beginning to feel a little differently about the author. I鈥檝e begun to think about who he is as a person and I鈥檓 starting to feel a tiny bit less reactive and more reflective about him and his writing.

It鈥檚 showing me how the art of listening might offer an opportunity for the kind of movement towards understanding and change that our world so badly needs.

God of hope, thank you that you always hear our prayers. Help us to notice those who feel unheard today, lead us to be unselfish in our listening and ready to hear new things, Amen.