Can You Hear Me Now?

We've all likely been there at some point in our lives. If you're a praying person, you've probably had those moments where you ask yourself, "Does God even hear me? Does He even care about what I'm going through?" This can be very discouraging at times and even challenge to our faith. The answer is definitely YES, according to 1 Peter 5:7 - "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Psalm 55:22 tells us to "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

What a great promise!....but....who is the promise for? According to Psalm 55:22, it's not just anyone, it's the righteous that will be sustained. This begs the question - Who then is righteous? According to Paul in the Book of Romans 3:10 (quoting from Psalm 14), there is none righteous, not even one! This presents a problem.....if no one is righteous then who is God sustaining?

The main part of the answer is found in the Lord Jesus, who according to 2 Corinthians 5:21 was made to become sin for us, that we may become the righteousness of God. Ahh! There's the answer to how we are able to be considered righteous in the eyes of God. Jesus bore our sins and the penalty of death that comes from sin, that we may be given life!

By now you may be saying "I know all that", and I believe it by faith. I'm a Christian and I've accepted Jesus as my Savior. What in the world does that have to do with my prayers being answered?

So, if God has promised to sustain the righteous, and my righteousness comes through the Lord Jesus, why do I feel like my prayers aren't making it past the ceiling at times? There are several scriptures I could go to, but I want to focus on two in particular and challenge you to ask the question,

"God, can you hear me?"

Well that's just silly you might say. He's God, of course He hears me...but what does the Bible say?

Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:"

Proverbs 28:9 "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination."

Both of these verses seem to indicate that there could be something in our lives that is causing God not to hear us. That something has to do with how we are living our lives. Psalm 66 says if we regard iniquity in our heart, He will not hear us. Iniquity means sin or wickedness. The word translated "regard" is the idea of intensely gazing upon something, so not necessarily accidental or intermittent sin, but a prolonged, intentional holding on to some sin with an unrepentant heart. But what exactly is sin? 1 John 3:4 tells us that sin is the transgression of the law.

Proverbs 28:9 warns us not to turn away from hearing the law. That word 'law' can conjure up a certain negative connotation in our minds as we tend to thing LAW > DISOBEDIENCE > PUNISHMENT. However, that word law in the Hebrew is 'towrah' which means instruction. God's law (instruction) is good and perfect according to Psalm 19:7. Instead we should think of it as INSTRUCTION > OBEDIENCE > BLESSING. The consequence of turning away from God's instruction is even scarier as he says not only will He not hear you, but your prayer is actually an abomination to Him! That's some serious stuff.

So, if you feel like your prayers are going unanswered, there are several possibilities. Firstly, unanswered prayer does not necessarily mean you are doing something wrong. God could have a different plan, different timing, etc. Isaiah 55:9 reminds us that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than ours. We must be willing to accept that at face value.

However, it could be that there is something that does need to be dealt with. Ask yourself...

Is there a sin that I'm not dealing with, one that I know about, that is prolonged and consistent, and I need to repent?

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Am I following His instructions?

If you are having relationship troubles, are you following His instruction on how to treat people, to love your neighbor as yourself, to love your spouse, how to deal (Biblically) with conflict, etc?

If you are having health issues, are you following His instruction on how to treat your body, what you should (and should not ) eat, drink or put into your body?

If you are having financial struggles, are you following His instruction on how to be a good steward of the resources He has entrusted to you? or are you ensnared with materialism and having more and better stuff?

We have to be honest with ourselves and always take an introspective look at our lives to make sure we are putting ourselves in a position to be heard and blessed. We will never be perfect in this life. We will fall and we will fail and that is when grace catches us, but that doesn't mean we can't try our hardest!

#prayer #obedience #righteous #psalms #law #instruction