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How Can I Be Sure That
God Will Hear Me When
I Call?
There is Someone
Who is thinking about you at this very moment. He is
good all of the time, does everything right, and loves
you deeply. That Someone is the Lord Jesus!
In Psalm 116:3 & 6, David described his
condition with these words -
"...I found trouble and sorrow...I
was brought low, and He helped me."
We wonder just how
many people reading this message can relate to what the
Psalmist said here.
Do you feel as though trouble is all
around you and sorrow is within you?
Have distress and grief been your
constant companions lately?
Does it seem as though you have been
brought to your last extremity?
E.M. Blaiklock in his
Commentary on the Psalms expressed
David's situation as being caught by two grim huntsmen
named "trouble"
and "sorrow."
Do you feel as though
these huntsmen have caught up with you as well?
What about being
"brought low"?
Do you feel as though you have been
plunged into the depths of misery and are hanging
or swinging like a bucket in a well?
Are you greatly afflicted -
feeling feeble, weak, depressed, sick, or deserted?
Have you been reduced in your
circumstances and find yourself in great need?
To complicate matters, you are tormented by what seems
to be the total indifference or helplessness of others.
While feeling like that bucket hanging by
a thin rope over the waters of the deep well which
are ready to drown you - where or who do you turn to for
a listening ear? Who really cares about what you are
going through at this time?
In Psalm 116:1, David answers that
question which has plagued all of mankind at one time or
another - "I LOVE the
LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my
supplication."
Who really
cares?
Jesus does!
But we need to stop and ask ourselves at this point -
did David get his answer to prayer because of his
"much speaking"(Matthew
6:7)?
No, not at all!
The answer came not because of who David was and what he
did but because of Who God is and what He does for His
children.
In other words,
certain attributes of God brought the answer to prayer.
It is so important that we hear what the Spirit of the
Lord is saying here to the Church!
The proper foundation for any
appeal to God cannot be found in us but in Him and Him
alone. He answers prayer not because of who we are but
because of who He happens to be.
In Psalm 116:5, David gives us the key
to answered prayer. We can always count on these
attributes of God to pull us through any circumstance or
situation that we encounter. They are depicted as such -
"Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is
merciful."
What a powerful
Scripture!
It should be memorized
by every Christian on the face of the earth and quoted
as a testimony among the heathen.
The God that we serve is
"Gracious," "Righteous,"
and "Merciful."
What do these traits entail?
"Gracious"
implies a free and spontaneous willingness
to do good for those who are desperately
in need. It excludes any ideas of merit or reward. Said
another way - it is His free and tender affection or
token of love and pity to those who simply do not
deserve it.
When we say that our God is
"gracious,"
we are saying that He is kind, compassionate, tender,
forbearing, not soon angry, and ready to forgive. In one
word, He can simply be described as being
"good."
Oftentimes, throughout the Scriptures, we will find that
His graciousness is coupled with His mercy. Some
examples of this are as follows -
Nehemiah 9:17 -
"...but Thou art a God ready to
pardon, gracious and merciful..."
Nehemiah 9:31 -
"...for Thou art a gracious and
merciful God."
Psalm 103:8 - "The
LORD is merciful and gracious..."
When David described the Lord as being
"merciful,"
he pictured Him as loving His people tenderly, pitying
them, and having utmost compassion for them in their
time of need or weakness.
It is interesting to not that between these two strands
of love - grace and mercy - stands His righteousness or
justice. He is indeed just, right, and faithful in all
of His dealings with men. He will always do that which
is right or the best for each situation. He punishes the
wicked but rewards, avenges, and delivers the righteous.
He can never do anyone any wrong. He can only do that
which is right.
What a ground of hope
these attributes offer for the believer's prayer life!
Oh! To know that every time that you kneel in prayer,
you are approaching the God Who is
"gracious," "merciful,"
and
"righteous." He loves you freely
and tenderly...is willing to do good for you even when
you least deserve it...and will always bring you the
best results in the end.
Do we wonder why David began his Praise with these words
- "I LOVE the LORD,
because He hath heard my voice and my supplications"?
But he didn't stop there in his praises.
Because he was so captured by the revelation of these
three attributes depicting His God - he committed
himself to a lifetime of communion with this Awesome One
- "Because He hath
inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him
as long as I live"(Psalm
116:2).
What about you today,
O Child of God?
Do you feel as though
you are hanging by a thin rope over the waters of
despair and hopelessness - which are just waiting to
drown you?
When you look
around, can you only see one trouble followed by
another?
Is your heart filled
with sorrow and grief at this time?
Have you been brought
so low that you feel as though you are at your wit's
end?
Take courage from this message!
God wants to lift your vision higher.
Get your focus off of yourself and your
circumstances and get it on your
"Gracious," "Merciful,"
and "Righteous"
God.
Your answer to prayer will not come because of who you
are or what you have done or not done.
It will surely come because there is a God in heaven Who
loves you - yes, even you
- and wants to reach down and touch you with His
compassion, pity, and goodness.
Never forget -
Because He is "righteous,"
He can never fail nor make a mistake.
Hence, He will always
do that which is right for you.
So go and talk to your Heavenly Father Who is
tenderly reaching out to you this day.
Leave all of your burdens with Him.
Then come away from that Quiet Place knowing
that "The Best is yet to come!"
You can be
assured of it!
May God Bless His Word.
Connie
| © COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved
