Tag: He hears my voice

Jonah 2:1-2 ” From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry.’ “

When life’s going along smoothly…we tend to ignore God.  We smugly think it’s us that’s making it all happen.   So when disease, death or tragedy  hits – we’re thrown for a loop. ” How can this possibly be happening to me…what am I going to do…how can I fix this?”  It’s at that point of distress, we finally cry out to the Lord.  But how do we know God’s listening to us…how do we know we have His attention?  We can start by reading His Word.  The Bible is full of times when God miraculously answered His people’s cries for help.  And each time He answered, their faith was built up a little more.   The Psalmist showed this confidence when he wrote, “Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.  In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me.” (Psalm 86:6-7)   It’s that assurance from past answered prayers that enable us to have confidence every time we cry out to God anew.

I Samuel 3:10 ” The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for Your servant is listening.’ “

If you have ever been part of a marriage conference or counseling…they teach you the art of active listening.  Each has the others undivided attention as they converse back and forth…repeating back to the person what they heard and asking, “Is this what you meant?”  There is much more listening done than speaking, and more unselfish attention given than self-centeredness.  Listening to the Lord is a lot like that.  It is not  blabbering on incessantly about our own feelings and emotions…it’s listening with all our being…taking the time to be quiet…hearing and then heeding His voice.

II Samuel 22:7 ” In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From His Temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears.”

Unfortunately, when we become Believers,  God doesn’t wrap us up in cotton batting and place us carefully in a box for safe keeping.  No, we’re subject to every evil and despicable thing the world can throw at us.  But in the midst of all the pain, suffering, anguish and grief,  we as Believers have one thing the rest of the world doesn’t… when we cry out to the Lord…He hears us.  This verse says that He hears my voice…He knows and recognizes my voice above the din of the whole universe.  But God doesn’t stop there…He acts when He hears our cry to Him…for when we summon the Lord,  He will come to our aid.