Our God Listens
I was standing in the kitchen making dinner, and everyone (well, everyone that lives in my house) seemed to need me all at the same time. One of the kids needed help with homework. Another was telling a story I only half listened to. And the third started complaining that they didn’t like what I was making. I was already pressed to my limits of patience and focus when my husband asked me for a bowl. He wasn’t being needy or lazy. I was standing in front of the cupboard containing bowls, but my brain was tapped. I couldn’t handle one more request, and I snapped at him. He was taken aback and (I could tell) a little offended.
I saw it on his face and felt terrible for letting the commotion of a typical evening frustrate me. I apologized but couldn’t take it back. It wasn’t Doug’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault except my own. I should have asked the kids to slow down with requests. I could have reminded them that I could only listen to one at a time. And a quiet prayer for my patience would have gone a long way.
But I didn’t do any of those things. I let it go on until I was stretched too far and snapped.
Lucky for us, God's not like me. Our God listens.
He hears us without becoming annoyed, overwhelmed, apathetic, or distracted.
Even here on Earth, Jesus wasn’t too busy for those who believed in Him. He listened to them. In Mark 5, Jesus was teaching to a crowd when a synagogue official sought Him out to heal his daughter, who was dying. While on the way to the official’s home, a woman with a bleeding condition touched Jesus’ robe, believing he could heal her. Jesus stopped, but not in frustration or anger, that He was delayed in saving the young daughter. Jesus responded in patience and love, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering (v. 34).” Then He continued on His way to heal the official’s daughter as well.
I have to admit that I probably would have been beyond annoyed at the woman’s request that could have waited until later. But Jesus wasn’t.
He is never annoyed by our prayers. God is patient.
The patience of God is touted throughout the entire Bible. “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love (Nehemiah 9:17).” God is still patient with us today as He waits for more people to follow Him before His second coming. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (1 Peter 3:9).”
He is never overwhelmed by our prayers. God is omnipresent.
Unlike you and I, our King is everywhere and can listen to all of us simultaneously. He doesn’t get overwhelmed by too many stimuli. His ability to take it all in is limitless. God never misses a moment or a prayer. It’s incredible and complex for us to comprehend, but God is omnipresent (Colossians 1:17, Psalm 139:7-10). He isn’t too busy, and we can’t interrupt Him because of His ubiquitous nature.
He is never apathetic to our prayers. God is personal.
Even more bewildering is although He has children around the earth vying for answers and attention all at the same time, His relationship with each of us is personal. He cares for us, and so He also cares about what we care about. Paul reminds us that God is our Father, and we are his children. “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship…we are God’s children (Romans 8:15-16).” Like any friend (John 15:15), God is interested in our concerns and loves to hear from us. In John 14:23, Jesus says He and the Father will come to His followers and “make our home with them.” He wants to be a part of our lives.
He is never distracted from our prayers. God is perceptive.
God knows exactly what we need when we need it. He knows all this before we speak (Matthew 6:8), even if we can’t put what we want into words (Romans 8:26-27). We pray for our circumstances or others, but God’s deep, accurate understanding of His children is far beyond what we know about ourselves.
Sometimes we are disappointed because we think prayer doesn’t work or God doesn’t hear us, but this is simply false. God tells us Himself through the prophets that he hears our cries.“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you (Jeremiah 29:12).” There are times that God answers our prayers directly just as we expected, but other times He has a different plan that is better than what we had in mind. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).’” There are also instances when we are in a hurry, and God’s timing is different (Habakkuk 2:3, Ecclesiastes 3:11). Our job is to trust and wait on Him.
It is also evident in Scripture that we must make sure we are trusting God and following His will. The apostle John proclaims in his Gospel, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will (9:31).” And Peter also instructs us in his first letter, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (3:12).” Before we take our requests to God, we can seek forgiveness from him so nothing is interfering with our relationship.
Our God listens patiently, presently, personally, and perceptively.
We hear it over and over again throughout scripture. The fact that God hears us is not a truth that can be misunderstood. But sometimes…maybe often… we need a reminder that God is not like us. He can do and be “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).”
So pray. Pray often. Pray about anything and everything. Why? Because our God listens.
Jenny
Child of God, wife, parent, grandparent, teacher, and messenger. My life is messy, non-traditional, and imperfect, but I strive to be right where Jesus wants me. I love reading, traveling, and all things green!
5 Comments
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Maggie
Boy, did I need that today (and need the reminder every day). What a powerful, loving God we serve – Creator and sustainer of all, yet mindful of each of us!
Jenny
I’m so glad to see how God is speaking to you! He is mindful of each and every one of us!
A
How is it that a great and mighty God can give us such personal attention. There is always a personal touch from Him, we don’t always acknowledge it and sometimes we don’t want it but it is always a blessing.
Jenny
I love that…it is always a blessing…we just might not realize how yet!