Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12
Have you ever felt that God wasn’t hearing your prayers? Have you ever just felt far from God for no apparent reason?
The verse in Jeremiah tells us that God does hear us, and he is near (even when it doesn’t feel like it) But to get a better understanding of what he means when he says “then” we need look at little deeper to get the full picture.
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 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 29:10-13
We notice that God tells us specifically of his promises (to prosper us and not to harm us) and the very next verse we are promised that when we call on him and pray to him we will listen to us.
Whenever someone listens (and not just hears) what I have to say it means alot to me. How does it make you feel when someone listens to you? When is the last time someone just listened to you?
Yeah that’s what I thought, usually when we go to people in hopes that they will just listen, we are met with unsolicited advice and several possible solutions thrown at us instead of just a listening ear.
Why do we keep going to other people to listen when it goes against their human nature, when we can go to God who infallibly listens to us?
We set ourselves up for failure when we look to man to fill a void that only God can.
Now think of who you know that is more likely to listen to you (and you are more likely to listen to them) Usually they have two traits in common:
- We care we have a higher level of compassion and empathy.
- We have a intimate relationship with the person.
Relate this to our heavenly father, He listens because he cares and because we have an intimate relationship with him. Here’s the deal though because He listens to us, He wants us to listen to Him. He longs to be our first thought instead of our last resort.
Blessings and Love,
Stephanie
Photo Credit: image created via wordswag
Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the ‘hall of faith’ chapter in the Bible. Among its verses you read of the remarkable reliance and trust of men and women such as Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. As I was reading this chapter recently, verses 32 and 33 caught my attention. I’m familiar with most of the men listed in verse 32, but Jephthah, not so much. What had he done that would merit his name to be listed in this faith chapter?
I remember one summer night when I couldn’t sleep. Everyone else was in bed and I was looking out my bedroom window because a spectacular storm was going on outside. The lightning was flashing across the sky and rain was falling in sheets. What was keeping me awake though wasn’t what was going on outside but was within me. I was struggling with a deep and challenging storm in my life that felt hopeless and unending. I had spent a lot of time in prayer asking God to deliver me, but I had not heard a response yet and felt alone. As I stared out the window at a tree in my front yard with its branches blowing in the wind, I desperately asked God to strike the tree with lightning to show me that he was there with me and could see my struggle. It was a question asked out of weakness, from being overcome with emotion.