There are times when I have finished preaching, or explaining something to someone that I wonder if anyone was actually listening to what I was saying. Sometimes when we speak to our children, and explain something to them, we wonder if they were really listening to anything we said. There are times that I am on the phone with customer service people, and I have wondered if the person on the other end of the conversation is a real person, or simply a computer. And yes, there are even times when I pray to my Heavenly Father, and I wonder if He hears what I am bringing before Him.
Today I read a great verse that answers that last question I asked today. “In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me” (Psalm 120:1). Those last three words were music to my heart this morning! He heard me … God does hear me when I cry out to Him. He is paying attention to the needs that I have, and the desires of my heart. He is not sleeping, or on vacation. He does not put me on hold and cut me off during a switch-over to another person. God is available to me when I am doing well, but also in those times of distress.
Sometimes when my heart is deeply grieved, or I am struggling with something, or someone in my life, I have no other person I can express myself to in a way that would be helpful. I am so comforted to know that I have a Heavenly Father Who is available, and Who will hear me. Now, to be perfectly clear, He always hears me, but He does not always answer my prayer the way I planned for Him to answer, or that I wanted Him to answer. I am thankful for that as well. There have been many times that I asked for things that would not have been good for me if God had given them to me. What a blessing to know that we serve an all-wise God, Who always hears, but also always answers with the best possible answer. I remember many times when one of our children asked me for something that I knew would not be good for them in the long run. I had to say “no” sometimes when they asked, because I really love them. If I had said “yes” to their request, I knew it would result in something that would not be what they needed. In the same way, I know that my Heavenly Father will give me the things that are best for me. I am comforted to know that whether His answer to me is “yes,” or “no,” that He has heard me and is giving me the best thing for me. I am so thankful that my concerns, and my cries are being heard by the God Who is for me. I am thankful that He is listening!