He hears

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,…He also will hear their cry and save them.

(Psalm 145:18&19, NKJV)

Driving home with my son from school, my mind was busy as I needed to get back to work.  My son was excitedly telling me stories from his school and I politely kept making sounds that suggested that I was listening to him.  After a while, he asked me, mum what have I just told you?  I had no answer for I hadn’t been listening to him.  Though only 3 years old, he had realized that I was not giving him the attention he wanted.  There are times we reach out to others with a desire to communicate something but though our words are heard there is no comprehension of the message that we want to pass.  In such circumstances, the purpose of the communication is not achieved.  Other times, we have an opinion which is different from another person, yet we do not get the opportunity to express ourselves.  When this happens, we leave feeling not only dissatisfied but possibly also belittled and disrespected.  Regardless of the situation, our need to be heard and understood cannot be negated.  The confirmation that we have been rightly heard, is established by the response we receive, that is what validates our message in that particular instance.

Brethren, we might have experienced situations where we have been unheard or worse still, misunderstood by others.  However, this is not the case when we come to our Father in prayer.  Our reference verse reminds us that God is near when we call upon Him in truth and that He not only hears our cry but also saves us.  I am encouraged by the fact that the almighty God is just a call away, He is never too busy to hear us when we call on Him, in moments when others might not hear or understand the cries of our hearts, God gets it perfectly.  He not only hears us but also responds to us with His hand of salvation.  God gives the appropriate response.  It does not matter what the issue is, we can rest in the assurance that He hears and understands us.  The Psalmist reminds us that God not only listened to his cry for help but that He attended to his prayer by His steadfast love  (Psalm 66:19-20).  There are times we wonder how to let God know our pain or struggles, we might even feel guilty or blame ourselves for the consequences of our actions, but beloved, God nor rejects our prayer neither does He ever remove His steadfast love from us. There is nothing to hard for Him to handle or too small to be of importance to Him.  He cares about everything that concerns us.  His word gives us the assurance that His eyes are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayer (1 Peter 3:12).  Ours is to take our position of faith in Him, when we look up to Him in faith, He reaches down to our situation, handling it on our behave.  Beloved, it is on this premise of believing that we are invited to draw near to His throne of grace where we receive His mercy and find grace for our times of need (Hebrews 4:16).  Jesus is our high priest and He is no stranger to our struggles, He understands it all and is willing and able to help us.  Settling on this revelation ignites His hope and gives our hearts strength as we go through the challenges of life.  Beloved, may we rest in His love even as we cast our anxieties and struggles to Him.  He does care for us and our lives are a testament to this truth.

 Thoughts:

 What is the burden in your heart?

 When have you experienced God’s response to your cry?

 How has answered prayer impacted your life?