Speak Up. God Is Listening.

“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you.” ­– 2 Kings 20:5b NLT

God is listening. But does He hear anything? Not if we don’t pray. Even God can’t hear what isn’t spoken. Yes, He knows our hearts, but He desires to hear our thoughts expressed in words – spoken directly to Him. When Hezekiah suddenly became ill, he was told by the prophet Isaiah to get his affairs in order because this illness was irreversible and he would not recover. Hezekiah’s response? “He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord” (2 Kings 20:2 NLT). Even though Isaiah had told him this news was directly from God, Hezekiah didn’t let that stop him from crying out to God. He reminded God he had been faithful and single-minded in his devotion to Him. He didn’t specifically ask God to heal him, but he just asked God to remember him. The news he had received was difficult and devastating. So he called out to the only one who could do anything about it. Hezekiah prayed and God heard.

And God gave Hezekiah an answer. He told Hezekiah that He had heard his prayer and seen his tears. He was listening and watching. And as a result, He was going to extend Hezekiah’s life by 15 years. Then He added that He would defend Jerusalem from the threats of attack by Assyria. God showed compassion. He heard the prayer and saw the tears of Hezekiah and He answered. Now is this a prayer principle we can apply to our lives and it will always work out just the way it did for Hezekiah? Probably not. God is not obligated to always do what we ask Him to do. In fact, Hezekiah never really asked for healing. He simply pleaded for God to remember him. The real message in this story is that God hears us when we call out to Him. He is always listening. He is always watching. He is looking at our hearts and how we respond to the difficulties of life. Do we despair or do we call out to Him? Do we appeal to the mercy and compassion of God when faced with insurmountable problems? Do we dare ask God to remember us and reflect on our own faithfulness and single-minded devotion to Him? Now, I don’t think Hezekiah was nearly as faithful and single-minded as he thought he was, and I don’t think that had anything to do with God’s healing of him. In fact, God said He was going to heal him and defend Jerusalem “for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David” (2 Kings 20:6 NLT). This had more to do with God keep His promises than acknowledging Hezekiah’s righteous life.

But we CAN appeal to God’s mercy and compassion. He loves us. He cares deeply for us. He is constantly listening and wants to hear from us. But He can’t hear us if we don’t pray. He can’t answer if we don’t ask. He can’t respond if we don’t request. Ask God to remember you today. Ask Him to call you to mind and reflect on you. To think about you. To concentrate His thoughts on you. He will. Because He cares. And whatever He does in response will be just the right thing for you, because God knows what is best. He will for you is always right. So don’t tell Him what to do, just ask Him to remember you. Then leave the rest up to Him.

Father, remember me today. Think about me. Reflect on my situation. Look down from heaven and see what is going on in my life. You know what is best. I don’t. You know what I need. I don’t. So I am going to try and talk to You more. Because You are listening. You can’t hear me if I don’t speak. So I am going to speak up – to You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org