Have you used headphones to listen for a specific sound? They help to block out other competing noises. We see this when people are exercising or working in a public space. To help us focus, we reduce or eliminate all other sounds to give our full attention to one particular sound.
God is able to hear us His high level of attention without headphones. He’s able to filter billions of prayers ascending to heaven to hear each distinctive voice. God hears it all. Our praises and our complaints. Our belly-shaking laughter and the silent, painful tears. He hears each outward exclamation of “O God” as well as the unuttered thoughts of “O God”.
He hears it all.
Our prayers, our cries do not go unattended. Exodus 2:23-25 tells us: “Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.”
There is great encouragement for us in this passage. God heard it all and knew it was time to act. Likewise, God hears our cries too.
There are times we don’t know what to do, what to pray. We may feel that our prayers have a better chance of being answered if they’re positive and decorated with flowery eloquence. Perhaps God will be impressed with what we say and how we say it that He will answer our prayers.
We may think that if our cries aren’t addressed to God, then it won’t count against us in prayer. Except that God hears and knows everything about us. Whether or not we purposefully think or speak our thoughts, God still hears. They don’t go unnoticed by Him.
God accepts our cries too. He hears our pleas for help and knows which action fits in the right time. We don’t have to be ashamed to talk to God. When we tell God how we feel, we take the step of trusting Him with our hearts.
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Sabrina Jacques-Rowe
Communication Leader
Henderson Highway Church