I picture a yawning, cavernous ear, and I move as close as I can to the opening. Does He hear me now? Does His eardrum reverberate with my cries and my voice? How is He able to hear my voice distinctly? There are millions of crying, praising, cursing voices all uttering at one time. Why would an all-powerful God listen to my finite and insignificant requests?
I have no explanation, but I know from the testimony of His words in the Bible that GOD IS ABLE.
Psalm 130 explains man’s role in God’s usual “hearing” practice.
The process starts with the human cry.
“Out of the depths have I cried to You, O Lord. Lord hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my supplications.” (Verse 1&2)
Then, there is the problem of humans muffling the sound of their own voice because of their sin.
“If You, Lord, should keep account of and treat us according to our sins, O Lord who could stand?” (Verse 3)
Next, a remedy is required, because no one can single handedly master perfection before a flawless God. God must first forgive them in order for their communication to be heard.
“There is forgiveness with You (just what man needs), that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.” (Verse 4)
Finally, there is the issue of a forgiven man’s confidence and trust that God is responding. Man’s “eyes” must watch for God’s intervention with expectant hope.
“I wait for the Lord. I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope. I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than the watchman for the morning, I say, more than the watchman for the morning. (Verse 5&6)
O Israel, (people of God—me, you) hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is mercy and loving-kindness, and with Him there is plenteous redemption.” (verse 7)
Plenteous redemption is a sign of God’s “hearing” ability. The word “plenty” is the opposite of the word “skimpy.” In addition, synonym words for “redemption” are “recovery”, “rescue”, “release”, “liberation”, “deliverance”, and “salvation”. The Psalm tells of God’s abundant ability in these areas.
Are any of these “redemption” needs a cry of my heart?
Yes. Absolutely!
Blessedly, through this Psalm, I am reminded that God is not in any danger of running out of His redemptive power. In addition, I know that when God hears me and chooses to work His power on my life, He does so from the same ability that ruled the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
This IS good news!
From Psalm 130, I have found a personal checklist to review when I have urgent requests for God and uncertain evidence of answers.
1. God WANTS me to ask HIM for answers, but if I am harboring sin, in essence, He won’t hear me until I am forgiven by Him.
2. God IS MORE THAN ABLE to accomplish, and in Him, there is immense resource for me!
3. Because of this, (if I am living a repentant life), there is only ONE FOCUS I need to maintain as I wait for answers.
4. My focus should be to watch and WAIT FOR GOD, just as a watchman waits for the morning. This implies I must be super-eager, ready, and willing for God to do His thing. (Not my thing, but His thing!)
In the end, my doubt should not be about God’s ability to hear me. Instead, I should be concerned about my sins, my attitude, and my capacity for waiting on Him.
For as certainly as morning follows night, God will show up, but just as certainly, He will want me to “see” what He does!
My Prayer
Dear God,
I am caught in a vast tangle of heartache. Thank you for Psalm 130 that tells me about Your hearing, and Your power, and the role of trust I must develop. I need You from beginning to end. Please stay with me in the matters that stretch ahead of me. Rebuild, restore, recover, save, and deliver me! Remove any sin that muffles the sound of my voice. May my cries be loud and clear in Your ear. I thank you for all You have done for me in the past, and I thank you for what You are about to do now. Amen.