In re-visiting an old familiar Scripture, I recently noticed something that I hadn’t seen before. I was reading the episode where Jesus healed ten men from leprosy, but only one returned to give him thanks. (Luke 17:11-19)

The phrase “in a loud voice” jumped out at me because it appears twice in the text. The first time it is the ten men, standing at a distance because of their dreaded disease, calling out to Jesus in a loud voice, asking him for pity.

The second time, the phrase is uttered by the one thankful man, as he praises God in a loud voice because he has been healed.

Are we more likely to speak loudly when we want something from God than when we are praising him? Does our “request voice” drown out our “worship voice”?

It makes you think, doesn’t it?