Is Anybody Listening?

"Today's Devotion" For June 27, 2006

Read: Psalm 86; II Chronicles 7:11-18

IS ANYBODY LISTENING?

"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You. Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me." (Psalm 86:5-7)

Have you ever had a feeling that you're talking and no one is listening? That's often the case in households with teenagers. Of course, from the parents' perspective it's the teens that aren't listening. If you ask the teens, the shoe's on the other foot and mom and dad aren't listening. Such a scenario plays itself out nearly every moment of the day somewhere in America (Canada and Mexico included).

Have you ever had the feeling that you're talking and no one is listening? Husbands and wives can surely relate to this. How often don't wives accuse their husbands of not listening to them? And vice versa? The anxieties that occur in so many marriages are a result of situations where spouses aren't listening to each other. thereby saying to the other they just don't care about them.

Have you ever had the feeling that you're talking and no one is listening? In our state, Wisconsin, people are sick and tired of political corruption and excessive tax burdens with no end in sight. Constituents address the issues with their state legislators, get a lot of lip service, and soon thereafter find out that they were only talking to a nodding head, not a real, caring, concerned and interested person.

Have you ever had the feeling that you're talking and no one is listening? If you're a "liberal" you're convinced that the "conservatives" aren't paying any attention to the issues of the day, or, at the very least, are discounting their importance. If you're a "conservative" you're equally convinced that the "liberals" only care about hearing themselves talk and pay lip service to the principle of listening to and considering opposing points of view. Carried on in the political arena, the President is accused of not listening to the people and the Congress, while he, at the same time, accuses the Congress and the people of not paying attention as well.

Should I go on? The point is that it's really hard to get anyone to truly listen to our needs, concerns, dreams, desires, expectations, and hopes, and, if they do, they may not "hear" what we want them to hear. Their understanding of our needs and concerns may be understood by them out of context or, because of their particular frame of reference, take on an entirely different meaning. Ultimately, no one can be certain that any other human being is actually going to listen and understand what we're saying in the same way that we mean it.

We can be confident, though, that there is someone who truly hears us, understands us from our frame of reference, knows our every need, and will answer us, including and especially in our times of need and despair. The evidence of that is shown in the fact that God came down to earth, took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, suffered and died on the Cross bearing the sins of the whole world, of all times and places, so that we might know that God is listening. He hears our needs, He understands our wants, He feels our despair, He knows our thinking. He is an awesome and loving God and Father, who has saved us from our sins with the blood of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, so that we might have a loving and living relationship with Him.

David writes in Psalm 86 that he was certain that God was listening and answering his prayers. He was confident that God was "forgiving and good...abounding in love to all who call" to Him (v.5). David had experienced, firsthand, God's tremendous mercy and grace and had no doubt that God would deliver him in his time of need. David's prayer is a reminder to us that God is also our God and Father. He is also our Savior and Redeemer. He is also the One who brings us into a saving relationship with Him, growing faith in our hearts so that we might receive His full forgiveness and the sure and certain hope of life with Him forever in heaven.

So, is anybody listening? With confidence and hope in our hearts, our answer is a resounding, "Yes!" God is listening! He does understand. He does meet our needs according to His wisdom and purpose. We can be confident of that and have hope.

Prayer: Father, amid the hubbub of the world around me, the dangers that I seem to face at every turn, and the frustrations that fill me with the dread that no one is listening and no one cares, You are there. You listen, You answer, You love, and You shower Your mercy and grace, Your forgiveness and peace into my heart and my life. With David I speak in confident praise of Your deliverance from the curse of Sin, the temptations of the flesh, the allure of the world, and the power of death and Satan. In Jesus You have shown me that You are listening, Your are answering my every prayer, and that Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness abound to me every moment of my life. Help me to live in the full and certain confidence that I "have Your ear" so that I might be a living, loving witness for You and Your love and forgiveness in Christ to a world that's looking for someone who will listen. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.