He Is Listening

That God hears our prayers is repeated many times in Scripture, especially in the Psalms. In Psalm 4:3 for example, David writes, “Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to Him. Again in Psalm 5:3 he proclaims loudly, “In the morning, O LORD you hear my voice . . .” and the unknown writer of Psalm 116:1-2 affectionately says, “I love the LORD because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”

Now what does this tell us about when we pray and why is this distinction so important? Because if you’re like me, I sometimes wonder if anyone is listening when I pray or if I am just speaking into the air and wasting time while I could be doing something else? But when I read His promises over and over that tell me God hears my prayers, I am assured that whenever I pray, whether for a little time or a long period, He is listening and I have His full attention night and day. “He bends down to listen” the Psalmist assures us and we can always approach Him with that confidence. With this foundational understanding in mind let me give you seven principles that have been valuable to me in my prayer life. Maybe they will help you.

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” (Colossians 4:2). As we all go through life I’m sure you’ve encountered bumps and bruises along the way and some obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, as well as a lot of disappointments. What did you do? I hope you prayed everything through to its conclusion. Sometimes prayer is the only thing we can do but it is the most powerful thing that anyone can ever do. The word “devote” here in the original language is actually two words put together. They are para (from) + kartero (endure). This compound word, which is also a command (which means to do it in obedience), tells us to pray with endurance, to remain steadfast.

The apostle Paul closes his first letter to the church at Thessalonica with a series of “bullet point” instructions, one of those is regarding prayer, “Keep on praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Literally, that means to pray continually, without intermission. I don’t take that to mean without a break for the other things in life, but I do believe that it means to pray something through and keep on praying it through to its conclusion. If you have a son or daughter who needs Jesus and is out in the world then you make it a consistent, continual prayer that they come home someday with Him in their heart. In other words, “Don’t give up and don’t quit.”

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done” (Philippians 4:6). One of the first principles of interpreting the Bible is to take what it says literally. In other words, God means what He says. Of course, there are figures of speech, such as allegory, metaphors, symbols, etc., but over 90 percent of the Bible is to be taken literally. So a tree is a tree, a mountain is a mountain and a river will get you wet. The apostle Paul here says to “pray about everything” and be thankful we have been given that privilege. I believe everything here means everything. So whatever is concerning you: PRAY!

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14). Our Lord Himself instructed His followers to make their appeal to the Father in His name (see also John 15:16; 16:24). Why is it so important that we ask in the name of Jesus? Because Scripture tells us that “God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-10). There is no other name or authority any higher (Matthew 28:18).

“Everything is possible for him who believes” Jesus told a distraught father seeking healing for his son (Mark 9:23). I have to admit that many times in the past I have prayed about some difficult issues to God with my fingers crossed behind my back because I wasn’t sure He would answer me. Well, that’s not the way of believing prayer. James tells us that “when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone” (James 1:6).

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). The apostle John gives us this assurance in his first epistle, “Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive whatever we request because we obey Him and do the things that please Him” (1 John 3:21-22). You see, if we love sin and are making no attempt to get right with God by obeying what He tells us to do, He’s just not going to act on any of our prayers except a prayer of repentance. Another Psalm writer says it like this, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). So confess to God and He will cleanse your heart and forgive your sins and hear your prayers (1 John 1:9)

“And we can be confident that He will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will. And if we know He is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that He will give us what we ask for” (1 John 5:14-15). This marvelous assurance by the apostle John again points out that when we pray, God hears and when God hears he responds in our behalf. With this assurance we can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (Hebrews 4:16).

So there we have it my friends. We have been given the assurance, the confidence, along with many great promises that God hears and answers when we cry out to Him. So what are you waiting for? Can’t you just see Him turning His ear to listen to you right now? Maranatha!