When God bends down to listen (Pt. 2)

(Part 2 of 2)

“I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”-Psalm 116:1-2

I love what this passage tells us about God’s reaction to our prayers. God’s bending to hear our voice communicates three important truths. First, His bending low proves that He is interested. Psalm 18:6 states:

“But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.”

Sometimes we pray like God is disinterested or far removed from our situation. We cry out to God like He is far away and needs us to clamor for His attention; when in reality the moment we open our mouths to pray, we capture His attention, and He bends down to listen.

Secondly, God’s bending low to listen shows His intentions:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.”-Jeremiah 29:11

God intends to listen to and answer our prayers. He has a plan and purpose for each of our lives. Plans to for good and not evil. Plans to give us hope and a future, but we must take time to pray and take time to listen.

Lastly, God’s bending low shows intimacy:

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”

-James 4:8

Sometimes we stop praying because we think He is too busy, too many other things clamoring for His attention, too many other people calling His name. But I am reminded by something Jesus said in John 11:41-42:

“So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

The moment we say, “Father”…He bends down to listen!

I love this quote by A.C. Dixon that really drives home the value of prayer:

“When we depend on organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend on education the get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do!”

The greatest thing that I learned from spending eight days with our missionary friends is this: Prayer is the most valuable resource that I have. Prayer captures God’s attention. So, what are you going to do with it when you have it!

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church