IS HE LISTENING?

“Have you ever wondered, “Is God listening when I pray?” One of His promises is “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 the Book of Psalms tell us “As for me, I call to God and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17). Well, He is listening and wants us to share all of our troubles and problems and concerns with Him. He is always there, ready to hear our prayers, however, His response may not always be what we are looking for or expecting of Him. It may seem like He is not listening, but He knows our needs and has already laid out His plan for us, and what we want or pray for may not be part of His plan. Or, it may be coming, but not yet. Like Moses leading his people to the Promised Land, it’s all in God’s plan and all in His time, again “Thy will be done”, as He taught us to pray.

    I know, for me, I get impatient. The “My will be done” syndrome kicks in and I find myself leaving my need for God’s will for me on the shelf, and setting out on my own. Eventually I compose myself and realize that my worry, or lack of patience and my selfishness is causing me a lot of unnecessary anxiety and frustration that I don’t need. That’s when I need to “let go and let God” and remember His promise, “I am with you always” (Matthew 20:20 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew11:28-30)  

    Putting my faith and trust in Him, lifts the burden off of me and restores my patience and gives me comfort, knowing that the solutionsI’m looking for will come, but they will come according to His plan and in His time. All He asks is that I keep my faith in Him and put my trust in His Word. It’s so simple, but yet I can make it so complicated by interfering with Hisplan, and getting in His way.

    God wants our journey with Him to be a joyful one, one that draws us to Him by trusting in His Word. He delights in answering our prayers and seeing our joy when our prayers are fulfilled. When we allow His plan to guide our lives the results often turn out to be better than we could have asked for or ever imagined.

My prayer 

    Thank you, Lord, for being the Guiding Light as we pursue the journey You have planned for us. Keep us on the straight and narrow and let us not veer from the path. Let us not forget to listen and look for Your presence in our lives and know that You are always with us and ready to hear our prayers. Give us patience to faithfully wait, knowing that Your plan for us will happen in Your time. Most of all, thank You for Your Son, for through Him, all things are possible. Amen”

– Jim Kerner