God Hears You!

“I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” 

Psalm 116:1 -2 (NIV)

Have there ever been times in your life when you’ve felt so broken and alone that you couldn’t even trace the existence of God in anything around you? I have. I’ve been so heartbroken, so angry, so deep in a pit of despair, that I couldn’t fathom God could love me let alone listen to me. My heart ached from loving, from longing, from losing…the rage from rejection boiled within my soul…WHY?!?! Why God, do I suffer so? Why does MY heart always seem to love too much, believe too blindly, absolve too easily? Why do I continue to reach out to the broken in my life only to end up further broken myself? Once the heartbreak occurs, then the withdrawal process begins. I shut down. I push people away. I self-protect. I vow no one will EVER hurt me like that again! Until, the next time…

This cycle of emotional dysfunctional was destroying my life. Whether in matters of marriage, children, siblings, parents, or even friendships, I constantly found myself feeling abandoned and alone. I so often prayed asking God to fix people, situations, and things. I even asked Him to fix me, but seemingly to no avail. What was I doing wrong? Why, did it seem, my prayers weren’t answered? And when I finally stopped talking long enough to actually hear what the Holy Spirit was saying to me, I was shocked and humbled…and awakened! I was doing two things incorrectly. First, I wasn’t always praying in line with the Word of God because I wanted what I wanted, as most of us do (if you’re really willing to be honest with yourself). The second, more egregious of my errors, was that I didn’t believe God was listening to me. My faith that He loves me and that He HEARS me didn’t win out over the doubt in my worth. Even after all of my years of studying the Word, listening to rousing sermons, and sharing the Word of Life with others, I still struggled with my own worthiness. I let low self-esteem and all of the negative things I’ve ever heard about myself continue to dictate my level of faith. I was the problem.

The turning point for me was reading Psalm 116:1 – 2. These two little scriptures drew a mental picture that forever changed the way I viewed God’s love for me. Verse one begins by pointing out the fact that God heard MY voice. That means, He doesn’t just hear random prayers, but just like ANY parent, He knows my voice specifically. When I hear any of my four children, I can usually tell who’s speaking because I hear the uniqueness in each of their voices. And so it is with our Heavenly Father. Yesterday’s devotional reminds us that God took painstaking effort to craft each of marvelously. We are each so unique because He made us that way! So, of course He hears our voices when we pray! But, even better than that, when He hears our cries and our pleas, He leans toward us just the way a parent leans toward their little child in order to focus and hear them better. What love He has for us, to incline His ear toward each of us!

No matter how sad, heartbroken, or alone you feel, know that God’s presence is there with you! He’s waiting for you to call Him so that He can lean down toward you and listen intently to your petitions. Have assurance that He knows you, your voice, and hears you, especially when you’re crying for help. Just like any parent, He’s ready and willing to come because He loves you!

Prayer Focus: Father, help me to believe that you know my voice and hear my prayers when I call to You. Remind me of your love when I allow doubt to shake the foundation of my faith. Speak to my heart, Lord, and stir up assurance in your love, and faith that will overcome all doubt. I know you hear me and I glorify Your name because you are LOVE! Amen!