We Listen but He Listened First
(Read Psalm 116)
We’re wrapping up this month’s devotions on listening to God with a focus on Psalm 116. Unlike others, it’s one of the Psalms without a title ascribed to it. After reading the first 2 verses, the message is clear.
“I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”
“I Love,” in verse one, literally meant, “I will call.” The language used here is passionate. Isn’t it amazing that the biggest presence in the entire universe, the Creator of all things, has “inclined his ear to me.” What a blessing it is having a divine listener of our cries, shouts, and laughter!
A loving relationship can’t grow without giving, without sacrifice, and without active communication. Think about the reassurance you get when you’re talking with your doctor about a serious or concerning issue you’re experiencing. You start feeling better just knowing they’re connecting and listening to you. Just driving to the doctor’s office you usually start feeling better, because you know he or she is going to pay attention to your problem. When God’s listening, it’s that much more powerful. It’s your father, your maker, your doctor, your best friend all focused on what is best for you. You are the broken piece of clay asking the potter to put you together.
There are different translations of this Psalm and they all portray beautiful visions of what God wants us to know about talking and listening with him.
“Because he bends down to listen”
“he has turned his ear to me,
I will call out to him as long as I live”“I will pray as long as I have breath!”
Whether God sends us joy or sorrow, shouldn’t determine why or how we pray, worship, and serve him. God himself hears us immediately, constantly, and graciously. Remember when you were younger and you would cross your fingers hoping for something to happen. Wishing for luck to deliver your wish. Hoping for a dream to come true from a shooting star. Even when our wishes would come to life, these gifts are usually short-lived and provide happiness rather than joy. Happiness depends upon something happening, it’s temporary. Joy is more of a state of mind. True joy is a relationship with God.
Someone in my life, who I love dearly is a mild believer. She is not a big fan of the trappings of religion. She knows there is a God. She knows he listens. But at the same time, she doesn’t ask him for help. I’m trying to encourage her to talk with God. To open up to him. To listen to him. Unless we surrender, we probably won’t hear him.
As long as we’re alive, we should always call upon the name of the Lord. I had a chronic health ailment for 14 years. On good days, I wouldn’t notice it. On bad days, it would effect my mood and even impact my work day. I would be short-tempered and lash out at my family. It even ruined a few vacations. From time to time, I would get medical help but I would never follow up. I wasn’t committed to resolving the issue. Eventually, I hit rock bottom and consulted a surgeon. A few weeks later, it was resolved. It was painful, but not nearly as painful as the 14 years of suffering.
I was asking for help, but I wasn’t asking the right person for help. In this earthly world, help is limited. For universal problems, there is no help except the help the Lord can bring. God always hears our prayer. He is always listening for the call of all his children. He promised us this. I will call, because he hears and answers, is what the psalmist is saying here.
“Then I called on the name of the Lord:
‘Please, Lord, save me!’
How kind the Lord is! How good he is!
So merciful, this God of ours!”
“Save” here means “save me from death.” This could be referring to asking God to save us from permanent death in hell or merely saving us from the death of a threat, injury, or illness. When we’re in trouble and we ask someone for help, do we do it lightly, or do we expect deliverance? If you were stuck in a burning building, would you calmly ask someone to get you out? If you saw a fireman, would you shout with emotion to be rescued? Be real.
“I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people—
in the house of the Lord
in the heart of Jerusalem.Praise the Lord!”
We did nothing for God’s grace. We did not and cannot earn his favor. The only thing that we can do for the Lord, is to thank him. As long as we can breathe air in our lungs, we should be thanking him for his wonderful work of salvation given to us. This thanksgiving can be part of our regular praise that we bring before God.
God knew us before we were born and God heard us before we cried to him. God listened and is listening. When you have someone’s ear who is greater, more powerful, more knowing, and bigger than you, you should listen to them.
“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;
Key Applications:
- Do you talk with God? Does he listen? Your prayer habits demonstrate your answers to these two questions. This week, pray to God with sincere expectation. Ask him for real help in your life. Ask him for deliverance. After your prayers, notice how you feel?
- Are you real with other believers in your life? Do you confide in them? Do you have someone who holds you accountable for your actions? Ask a family member or friend who is a believer you trust, if they would agree to be partners in faith. Make an agreement that you’ll hold each other to the standards Christ would expect.
- Are you real with God? Do you ask him for answers to trivial things or your deepest fears? Do you open up to him vulnerabilities that strip you of your confidence? In this devotion, the word “ask” has been used 10 times. There’s a pattern here. Ask is a verb, meaning “say something in order to obtain an answer or some information.” Asking God shows your faith. Listen for his answer, he’s listening to your question.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.