Silence!

Oh, this was so good I just HAD to share it. For prayer time lately, I've been working my way through the devotional, My Daily Bread, and I just reached the end of the section called "The Way of Purification" which is about half way through the book. The whole meditation was awesome, but the prayer at the end reads like this:

Dear Holy Spirit, my God, teach me to talk well and wisely. Let me avoid useless conversations. Help me to speak often for You. Grant that my words may never hurt men of good will. May my words always bring consolation to those in sorrow, guidance to those who are confused, light to the ignorant, hope to those who despair, comfort to those who are troubled, and good advice to those in need. Take my lips and make them Yours. Take possession of my mind and make it an instrument of Your goodness and a channel of Your truth. I hope to become a man of silence, that is, one who preferes to talk to God rather than to men. In my human conversations, may I always bring You closer to them and them closer to You. Amen.