October 31-- "God is Listening to You"

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 4 & Psalm 6

"God is Listening to You"

Here’s an astonishing truth: The Creator of the Universe hears the prayers of those He has befriended. This truth is confirmed in 1 Peter 3:12 - "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.” Imagine that! God’s ears are attentive to your prayers. This is one of the most amazing and shocking facts in all the Bible. The truth of God’s listening ear is repeated often throughout the Bible. Here are just two of those references:  "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,  “God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" (Psalm 67:20)

God hears everything, including prayers. He is God. Nothing gets by Him. He is sovereign over everything that He created. So, the question is not whether God is aware of your prayer (He is), but whether God is tuning in to your prayers with an intent to answer them. To know this, you must consider the following conditions to having your prayers answered.

First, you must be His child, follower, and disciple. Nowhere in Scripture does God promise to answer the prayers of those who have not placed their faith and trust in Him. The ears of the Lord are only attentive to the prayers of those who have been made righteous through their faith in the redemptive work of Christ.

Second, you must not harbor sin in your heart.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Unconfessed sin and unrepentance blocks your communication with God. He is there. He wants to hear. But sin is “jamming” the signal.

Third, you must not ask for things just to satisfy your own selfish desires. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)

Fourth, you must ask in accordance to His will. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14) God loves you too much to grant requests that are inconsistent with His plan and purpose for your life.

Finally, you must ask in faith. Jesus said, “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

In today’s key verse (Psalm 6:9), David the Psalmist, takes a moment to reflect on the amazing truth that "The Lord has heard my plea and accepts my prayer." Get your prayer life aligned with God’s plan and you too will be rejoicing and celebrating God’s answered prayers for you!