Think about the last time just the voice of a friend brought an immediate sense of calm or companionship...

What a gift the sound of that voice can be. More importantly, friends take requests for help, for prayer, or just let us grouse. And, we expect the requests to be met, the prayers to be prayed, and the grousing to be taken in stride and held safe.

In Psalm 5, verse 3, David writes:

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

Wonder for a minute at what the sound of our voices bring to God's ear...
How He responds when we lay our requests before Him...
How He hopes we can wait expectantly and not fretfully...

Take a few sentences and share with God how His character, as described above, impacts our lives. What about our lives as Leaders?

As Leaders, we sometimes have to stop and focus in order to hear those we lead. In working with teams through the years- in any group, when we ask "What is the single most important quality a Leader can have?"- the word "listen" is always on the list multiple times.

Let's ask God to help us to hear our people more and receive the sound of their voices positively. Let's listen more closely to their requests. And let's follow up responsibly to meet their expectations.