{"id":4130,"date":"2017-04-17T18:35:48","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T00:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4130"},"modified":"2017-04-17T18:35:48","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T00:35:48","slug":"the-god-who-hears-and-responds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4130","title":{"rendered":"The God Who Hears and Responds"},"content":{"rendered":"

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY….<\/strong>\u00a0“I love the Lord<\/span>, because he has heard\u00a0<\/span><\/span>my voice and my pleas for mercy.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Because he inclined his ear to me,<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”<\/em> Psalm 116:1,2 ESV<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 116 stands in stark contrast to Psalm 115. The psalmist declares his love for the Lord, because…..“he has heard my voice and my please for mercy…”\u00a0<\/em>Having the god you worship hear and respond to your needs was not something you could take for granted in ancient Israel.<\/p>\n

Consider the cries and gyrations of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Pleading, chanting, dancing all day long without a reply.<\/p>\n

Psalm 115 gives a vivid description of the man-made gods of the day.<\/p>\n

“Their idols are silver and gold,\u00a0<\/span>the work of human hands.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>They have mouths, but do not speak;\u00a0<\/span>eyes, but do not see.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em>They have ears, but do not hear<\/strong>;\u00a0<\/span>noses, but do not smell.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>They have hands, but do not feel;\u00a0<\/span>feet, but do not walk;\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and they do not make a sound in their throat.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Those who make them become like them;\u00a0<\/span><\/em>so do all who trust in them.”<\/em> (Psalm 115:4-8 ESV)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lifeless gods, are worshiped by lifeless people. So, the psalmist rejoices in God’s attentive ear, and deliberate actions. He not only hears, but “inclines” His ear. You don’t have to work to get the Lord’s attention, His ear is sensitive to the cries of His children, just as a parent, listens for the cry of their children.<\/p>\n

A child was frightened by the night storm. He calls for his father who responds to his cry. “I hear you son” says, the father. The child asks, “are you looking my way?” “Yes, son, I am looking your way.”\u00a0When you pray, pray in confidence that the Lord hears. Not only does He hear, He is looking your way.<\/p>\n

The summary of the Lord’s response is seen in these verses, “For you have delivered my soul from death,\u00a0<\/span>my eyes from tears,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>my feet from stumbling;\u00a0<\/span><\/span>I will walk before the Lord\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em>in the land of the living.”<\/em> (Psalm 116:8,9 ESV)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer for today….\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Lord may the reality that you hear us when we pray, never to taken for granted. Let it be an encouragement to call on You and a reason for our love for You. You hear, You respond, You deliver.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY….\u00a0“I love the Lord, because he has heard\u00a0my voice and my pleas for mercy.\u00a0Because he inclined his ear to me,\u00a0therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1,2 ESV Psalm 116 stands in stark contrast to Psalm 115. The psalmist declares his love for the Lord, because…..“he has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4131,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4130\/revisions\/4131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}