Ps. 66:16-20
Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to Him with my mouth, and praise was on my tongue. If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. However, God has listened; He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer. May God be praised! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me. (HCSB)
Have you ever felt like God doesn't hear your prayers? Or that He hears but don't really listen? Or worse, that He hears but don't care? Well, let me just say that He does hear. And when He hears the prayers of His children He listens because He truly does care. We struggle with this sometimes because of our limited understanding and patience. We have the Burger King and Dominoes mentality where we want to have it our way in under 30 minutes, but sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers in exactly the way or time frame that we think He should. But we need to trust that He cares about us, and knows what is truly best for us. The Psalms are filled with scriptures that point to the reality that God hears us:
Imagine with me if you will, that you are granted an audience with some figure of royalty, a King or Queen perhaps. What kind of honor would that be, realizing how rare an opportunity it is for a common citizen to be able to spend time with such an important and powerful person? How would you feel if the King/Queen listened with interest to the things that concerned you? Pretty good, huh? You know, I've emailed President Obama two or three times about issues that concern me greatly, but I have yet to get a personal response from him or a response of any kind for that matter. In fact, I doubt that he ever even saw or read my emails. And yet I can bow down and send a knee-mail to God and get a confirmation that the message was received in my heart and spirit before I even say "amen". And that's great, because I'd much rather talk to Jesus anyway!
We can go to God anytime, and we don't need a priest or mediator to do so. We don't have to win some contest or pass a security check by the secret service. There's only one mediator between man and God, and that's Jesus Christ. (1 Tim. 2:5-6) He's our High Priest, and because of what He's done for us, we can boldly approach God's throne, knowing that He will hear us and help us when we need Him! (Heb. 4:14-16) Praise the Lord! Aren't you glad you've got His ear?
Singing His Praises,
Joey C.
Have you ever felt like God doesn't hear your prayers? Or that He hears but don't really listen? Or worse, that He hears but don't care? Well, let me just say that He does hear. And when He hears the prayers of His children He listens because He truly does care. We struggle with this sometimes because of our limited understanding and patience. We have the Burger King and Dominoes mentality where we want to have it our way in under 30 minutes, but sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers in exactly the way or time frame that we think He should. But we need to trust that He cares about us, and knows what is truly best for us. The Psalms are filled with scriptures that point to the reality that God hears us:
- Ps. 4:3--Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him.
- Ps. 18:6--I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears.
- Ps. 40:1--I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
- Ps. 69:33--For the Lord listens to the needy and does not despise His own who are prisoners.
- Ps. 94:9--Can the One who shaped the ear not hear, the One who formed the eye not see?
- Ps. 116:1-2--I love the Lord because He has heard my appeal for mercy. Because He has turned His ear to me, I will call out to Him as long as I live.
- Ps. 138:3--On the day I called, You answered me; You increased strength within me.
Imagine with me if you will, that you are granted an audience with some figure of royalty, a King or Queen perhaps. What kind of honor would that be, realizing how rare an opportunity it is for a common citizen to be able to spend time with such an important and powerful person? How would you feel if the King/Queen listened with interest to the things that concerned you? Pretty good, huh? You know, I've emailed President Obama two or three times about issues that concern me greatly, but I have yet to get a personal response from him or a response of any kind for that matter. In fact, I doubt that he ever even saw or read my emails. And yet I can bow down and send a knee-mail to God and get a confirmation that the message was received in my heart and spirit before I even say "amen". And that's great, because I'd much rather talk to Jesus anyway!
We can go to God anytime, and we don't need a priest or mediator to do so. We don't have to win some contest or pass a security check by the secret service. There's only one mediator between man and God, and that's Jesus Christ. (1 Tim. 2:5-6) He's our High Priest, and because of what He's done for us, we can boldly approach God's throne, knowing that He will hear us and help us when we need Him! (Heb. 4:14-16) Praise the Lord! Aren't you glad you've got His ear?
Singing His Praises,
Joey C.