Does God Hear Me When I Pray? Episode #13

The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt

Grab your free prayer resource here.

Well, hey there, hello to you and welcome to episode number 13 of The Prayer Podcast. I’m so grateful you’re listening today, and as I’ve been praying about this show, I’ve been considering the wide variety of things people are facing in their lives, the things that they are praying about, some of which may seem too small to bring to God (which is not true, He is in the details of our lives and cares about them all). So where you are today, facing big things, things not so big, or maybe just in a place that feels so normal that it seems boring and maybe sort of dull, maybe you are grieving, maybe you are rejoicing, maybe you are about to step into a whole new phase of life and it’s wonderful but a bit nerve wracking at the same time. Wherever you are today, the verses I’m going to read are for you. God’s Word today is for you. God is for you.

This is episode number 13 of The Prayer Podcast, and I’m Jan L. Burt, the host of the show, and today we’re going to read and pray based on Psalm 116. Ready? Let’s see what the Bible has to say to us today.

In the Amplified Bible, Psalm 116 verses 1 and 2 say this:

I love the LORD, because He hears (and continues to hear) my voice and my supplications (my pleas, my cries, my specific needs).

Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.

The psalmist is clearly a person of prayer. He believes in it, because His God has heard his prayers and has answered.

What a powerful testimony this is to the faithfulness of God!

And faithful He is, faithful He will ever be. When we go to the Lord in prayer, we should remember that He is ever faithful.

I believe it was Martin Luther who first said that even the devil is God’s devil.

Let me say that again…even the devil is God’s devil.

Does that bring you some comfort? Does it encourage you to stand ready to pray? This assurance that even the devil is not outside of God’s reign and rule, that the devil is no match for the Lord, that Jesus will return one day soon and will slay him with the breath of His mouth. The enemy is no match for God. He hasn’t pulled one over on the Lord. God is ever faithful. And I’m trusting Him to be ever faithful at your point of need in life.

Verse one - I love the LORD…why?

Because He hears and continues to hear my voice and my supplications - my pleas and my cries and my specific needs.

He hears your voice and will continue to hear your voice. You are not talking to the ceiling. The devil tells us often that we are unheard. Not true. God heard us and continues to hear us. He is listening when we pray. Our voice is heard. We are not voiceless. We have a voice in heaven. When we make an appeal to the Righteous Judge, it is heard and it does not fall on deaf ears. Keep praying. Your God hears you and will keep on hearing you.

Your supplications, when you cry out to Him in prayer, when you are pleading with Him and desperate for Him to move and act, to step in and intercede, to heal and to deliver, to DO SOMETHING… Psalm 116 says clearly, with no ifs ands or buts, that He hears. Doesn’t mean He is a vending machine and we put our prayers in and push C5 and we get exactly what we want. My husband used to tell my kids when they’d get to griping about dinner, he’d say, “Your mother is not running a restaurant.” Sometimes we get discouraged in our praying because we didn’t get what we ordered. But God isn’t running a restaurant. We may not get exactly what we ask for, we may not get the candy bar from C5. Don’t stop praying. It’s not a restaurant, God has not vending machine kind of options. He is the Lord God Most High, and so of course it isn’t like we place an order and demand good service or there won’t be a tip at the end of this deal. Can’t it be true that He is ever faithful, that He hears us and continues to hear us, and that He isn’t handing us a menu and telling us that we get to choose? I’ll take mine medium rare, and no sour cream on the baked potato. Nope.

But He does hear. The lack of a C5 dropping down into the little chute, the lack of a vanilla coke from sonic with light ice, that does not indicate that God isn’t hearing you. Don’t stop praying. Keep pleading, keep crying out.

And keep bringing your specific needs to Him when you pray. That’s what it says at the end of verse 1…my specific needs. It’s in the word of God on purpose, not by happenstance. Take Him at His word and simply choose to believe that He wants you to pray about the details, so get specific. Sure, He isn’t a vending machine, but nonetheless He desires for His children to bring their specific hurts and needs to Him. And while we are at it, why not bring our specific praises to Him, as well? Praise Him specifically! Even down to thanking Him for that really great parking spot that allowed you to have a short walk into the store with your pregnant self and toddler and diaper bag in tow. Be specific and just see how He moves in response.

Verse 2 - Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.

Have you made this kind of prayer commitment? Lord, because You turn Your ear toward me, inclining Yourself toward me as I pray, for this reason I am going to call on You in prayer and praise and thanksgiving, in good times and in bad, for as long as I live. Lord, let my last breath be one I exhale talking with You. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to close out your time on this earth? To step into heaven simply continuing the conversation you’ve been having with your Lord? Call on Him for as long as you live, and when eternity rolls around, you will not regret your time spent in prayer.

I’d like to pray for you now, if that’s alright.

Lord, thank You for Your word. Thank You for Your ever faithfulness to Your children. I praise You for hearing us when we pray, and for always hearing us. These are the words Jesus said aloud just before He raised Lazarus from the grave. And these are our words to You now. Thank You, Father, for hearing us when we pray and we know that You always hear us. We are never voiceless, we are not unheard, we are not lost in the crowd, one face among many, crying out to no avail, lost and alone. No, the opposite is true for us because we are Your dearly loved children. We are heard, we are never alone or abandoned, You have engraved us on the palms of Your hands, Jesus, and we are able to come in prayer knowing we are heard. Thank You for this tremendous gift, Lord, and may Your people who bear Your name be a praying and a praising people for all of our days.

Today as I pray for the ones listening, I am asking You to hear them as they plead with You, as they cry out to You, as they bring You their specific needs. Do as Your word says, and hear them. And in the hearing, provide an answer. May Your absolute best be the answer they receive, and nothing less. We know that we are the clay, and You are the potter, and so we submit to Your will and Your way, and we trust that even if the answers are not exactly what we’d like them to be, we know You are good and that the answers You provide, in Your perfect timing, are for our good and for Your glory. May our testimonies be like a city on a hill, pointing to You, offering hope to those who need it, who see us as we receive with gratitude Your answers to our prayers. Be honored in our praying, in our living, and even as we take our final breaths, if You tarry Lord, be honored in our dying too. Because You have inclined Your ear to us, we will, we will continue to call on You, Lord as long as we live. And we are thankful for the gift You’ve given us in prayer.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Thanks so much for joining me for The Prayer Podcast today. I’m grateful to be able to pray for you, and I’m going to add a link in the show notes for a free prayer resource for you.

I’ll be back next time for episode number 14. God bless you! Bye bye.