I don’t know about you, but I have really struggled with the concept of God hearing me when I talk to Him. I can’t really tell you from where this stems, whether it is feelings of unworthiness or just plain doubt. I think it really depends on the day. My mind can be distracted with thoughts of “Why would God listen to YOU?” or “Are you sure he is listening to you?” Both lines of thinking leave me depressed, doubtful and even wondering why I waste my time.
Does this happen to you?
Then, because I love facts and quantifiable data, I try to find proof that God is listening.
That would settle it. I am worthy and God listens! But when I thought about it, I don’t do this with ANY OTHER conversations I have with my friends and family. If I am on the phone, I do not question their hearing of me or my worthiness of talking to them. I just talk, maybe too much, but I talk and assume the listening is happening.
I have faith that the people I talk to hear me.
I must apply that same concept to God. I must have faith that He listens. The Bible tells us so many times that God hears us when we talk to Him.
In the Psalms we see where God hears His people when they call out to him amid trouble. Psalm 50:15 tells us that we can call out to God in trouble, and He will deliver us because He HEARS us. In Psalm 17 David starts out by asking The Lord to hear him and by verse 6 he says that He calls out to God because He KNOWS He will hear him. And again, in Psalm 10 it is said that God will incline His ear to the afflicted and strengthen their heart.
I love in Jeremiah 33:3 where it says that if we call upon the Lord not only will He answer, but He will tell us “Great and hidden things that you have not known”. So, He listens AND He wants to share His heart and knowledge with us! That is amazing.
While I was searching The New Testament, I found even more verses on God hearing us. However, the verses seemed to be more about receiving more than just God’s ear or deliverance. They seem to deal with really asking Him for what is provided in His will and because He hears, it will be given to us. For example, in 1 John 5:14-15 says that we can believe confidently in God granting our requests according to His will.
So, you are thinking “Okay, Martha, you laid it out. God is listening. Case closed!”
Yes, but here is where I got tripped up in my prayer life and trusting in the Lord. I ALWAYS believed that God hearing = my prayer answered. That was it. That was the proof. If my prayer was not answered CLEARLY God did not hear me. So, I would keep praying for the same thing which made my prayer life the equivalent of the old cell phone commercial where the guy would keep asking “Can you hear me now?” That was the scope of my prayer life, “God, can you hear me now?” Outcome not what I want? “Can you hear me now?” And so on and so forth.
But in all those times of prayer, I did not consult God on what His will is for me. It was always me telling him what I want and how He needed to make it happen. My requests were made with the attitude of a toddler demanding her way. A toddler never asks the parents what their will is for them, they demand. And when they didn’t get their way, they throw a temper tantrum. I am ashamed to say that I threw tantrums at God. What I was telling Him is that He only had one option. To give me what I want.
So BASICALLY, I was manipulating God.
To be clear (and to make sure you give yourself grace), the act of asking God for things outside of His will happens. Remember that when Jesus was in Gethsemane, he asked God if it would be possible to bypass the suffering he was about to endure (Matthew 26:39). But then he ends his prayer by saying that God’s will be done. Not his, but God’s. That makes me feel a bit better knowing I am not the only one who does this. In Hebrews this exchange is addressed by letting us know that even then, God heard Jesus (Hebrews 5:7). It shows us that listening does not always equal answered prayer.
We just have to make sure that when we talk to God, we do not boil our conversations down to getting what we want in order to bolster our belief in His hearing and His communication with us.
God really does not have to prove to us He is listening. We must believe He listens. We must read our word and apply our faith to what it tells us about a listening and hearing Lord. Don’t make the mistake I made and point an accusing finger at Him because he did not give you the desired outcome you wanted. Don’t tell God He only has one option when it comes to hearing you. Believe that He hears you and He wants to share His secrets with you!
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