The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles
Psalm 34: 17
Throughout the Bible, we find a God who is attentive to the cries of his children. He is so interested in and full of love for us that he turns his ear to us (Psalm 116:2, NIV). He bends down to listen to us (NLT). What a beautiful picture of the Most High God turning his ear to hear our cry; the Almighty God positioning himself to listen to us in our distress.
From the time we cry out we catch God’s attention. Sometimes, we don’t get the answer straight away; sometimes we don’t get the answer we want but God always hears us and responds in the way that is best because he has good intentions for us.
Hannah wanted a child. Year after year, she cried out to God. Year after year, she endured the taunts of Peninnah, her husband’s other wife. Here are some of the words used to describe how Hannah was feeling in 1 Samuel 1: deep anguish, misery, deeply troubled, grief.
Have you ever felt like this?
In her distress, Hannah kept calling out to God.
Then one day, ‘Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.’
God heard Hannah’s prayer. Not only did she give birth to Samuel, one of the greatest prophets, but to five other children after him!
In another instance, God heard the prayers of Daniel whocried out for mercy for himself and the Israelites. While he was still in prayer he received a message from Gabriel – ‘As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed’ – Daniel 9: 23a. On another occasion, he didn’t get a response straightaway but then he had a vision and was told, ‘“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.’ – Daniel 10: 12-13.
The message is clear – God heard Daniel’s prayers straightaway.
Similarly, he hears our prayers straightaway. Sometimes our answers come swiftly, at other times they may be delayed but God ears are never closed to our cries. He is always working, even when it looks like nothing is happening.
Zechariah realised this truth as he served in the temple. He was a priest and it was his turn to burn incense that day. Some time before he had prayed for a child, but as the years went on it seems he had lost hope that it would ever happen. He and his wife were now very old. So, here he was getting on with life, fulfilling his duties in the temple.
Then something happened. An angel appeared next to the altar of incense. Zechariah was ‘gripped with fear’. The angel told him not to be afraid and spoke these words: ‘your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John’ (Luke 1: 12-13).
Let’s reflect on those words again:
Your prayer has been heard.
This is the same God we saw in the Old Testament, who heard Hannah’s and Daniel’s prayers and the prayers of many others. Here he is again, with Zechariah, proving that he hears and answers prayers.
And he’s still doing the same today. He hasn’t changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13: 8)
These stories are just a tiny snapshot of God’s track record of answering prayers. There are so many others recorded in the Bible, and so many that aren’t. I’m sure you have your own stories of answered prayers.
God hasn’t changed and today he wants to remind you that:
Your prayer has been heard.
Pause: Take some time to ponder what it means for the Most High God to turn his ear to your cry.
Reflect: Read Psalm 116 slowly and more than once. Read it in different Bible versions if you can.
Rise: As you go about your days, remember to call out to God about anything that is bothering you or causing you distress. Allow him to carry the burden for you while you hold onto the truth that your prayer has been heard.