God is Listening to You
Here’s an
astonishing truth – The Creator of the Universe hears the
prayers of those He has befriended. This truth is confirmed in 1 Peter 3:12 - "For the eyes of the
Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.”
Imagine that! God’s ears are attentive to your prayers. This is one of the most
amazing and shocking facts in all the Bible. The truth of God’s listening ear
is repeated often throughout the Bible. Here are just two of those references: "Then you will call on me and come
and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
And, “God has surely listened and has
heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld
his love from me!" (Psalm 67:20)
God hears everything, including prayers. He is God. Nothing
gets by Him. He is sovereign over everything He created. So, the question is
not whether God is aware of your prayer (He is), but whether God is tuning in
to your prayers with an intent to answer them. To know this, you must
consider the following conditions to having your prayers answered.
First, you must be His child, follower, and disciple. Nowhere
in Scripture does God promise to answer the prayers of those who have not
placed their faith and trust in Him. The ears of the Lord are only attentive to
the prayers of those who have been made righteous through their faith in the redemptive work
of Christ.
Second, you must not harbor sin in your heart. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Unconfessed sin and unrepentance blocks your communication with God. He is there. He wants to
hear. But sin is “jamming” the signal.
Third, you must not ask for things just to satisfy your own
selfish desires. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you
ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
(James 4:3)
Fourth, you must ask in accordance to His will. “This is the
confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according
to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14) God loves you too much
to grant requests that are inconsistent with His plan and purpose for your
life.
Finally, you must ask in faith. Jesus said, “I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will
be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
In today’s key verse (Psalm 6:9), David the Psalmist, takes a
moment to reflect on the amazing truth that "the Lord has heard my plea and accepts
my prayer." Get your prayer life aligned with God’s plan and you too will be
rejoicing and celebrating God’s answered prayers for you!