Monday 16 March

By Rev Iain D. Cunningham

Have you ever lost your voice? Not great if you're a singer, or a preacher!

What about times when you felt your voice just wasn't heard?

When our four children were growing up I often found it impossible to get a word in at the dinner table. It was as if everyone else had learned to tune out the frequency of my voice. (Perhaps as a preacher I should have been used to this.)

But these are trivialities. What if all you have a right to expect is denied you and at the same time you are simply ignored by those who have power over you? This is precisely the situation for many in the world who are denied justice, freedom, protection, peace and life itself.

One of the shared commitments of Christian Aid and the Church of Scotland's World Mission Council is to be "a voice for the voiceless" even if on occasion we feel ourselves to be "a voice crying in the wilderness,'' that is heard or heeded by few.

The responsibility to speak up and speak out for others who lack the capacity or opportunity to have their own voices heard is one we all share.

But there may also be times when we need to learn to stop speaking and start listening, for in our noisy, busy, activist world too many voices shouting at the same time drown out the still small voice of God who speaks to us in unexpected ways, places and people.

Christian Aid

Daily Reflection

Often we take our own voice for granted. Make sure yours gets heard by joining our network of local lobbyists who regularly contact their MPs to demand a fairer world for all.

Visit christianaid.org.uk/locallobbyist