God is Eager to Hear from Us

He Listens

One of my biggest problems in marriage is that I don’t listen very well. And not listening reveals I don’t care enough about what my wife is saying in that moment—and that’s totally on me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t hear her speak. I might hear all the words she is saying but, if I’m not listening, it’s going through one ear and out the other. There is a huge difference between listening and merely hearing. God doesn’t simply hear our prayers. As God’s children, he also listens to our prayers. He cares about what we have to say. And unlike me, we can know for certain that God is listening to every last request, every last supplication, every last word.

Just like with hearing us, the Bible shows he listens to us in many passages.

“We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will” (John 9:31 NIV).
“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13 NIV).
“I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me’ (Psalm 66:17-20 NIV).

As God’s child, I can know he is listening to me. His ears aren’t merely open; they are focused on what I am saying. That is so comforting; to know the God of the universe—the Creator and Sustainer of all things—is listening to my prayer. God listens to my prayer no matter how mumbled, how repetitive, or how messed up it is. He does not get fed up with listening, even when the prayer is saturated with sin. He doesn’t ignore, even when we ask for things we know we shouldn’t. He doesn’t roll his eyes, even when we say one thing in our prayer and do another in practice.

Bask in that for a moment.

As God’s blood-bought children, he is for us. And he thoroughly enjoys listening to our petitions. God’s “listening ears” are on 24/7. Go to him.

He Inclines

I remember the moment Jovi said her first word. No, it wasn’t, “Mama” or “Dada.” It was “Dundie”—our dog’s name. Go figure. Since it was her first word, she enunciated it in a way that was humorous and her eye did a funny little twitch every time she said it. Once she said her first word, from that moment we eagerly listened to every little word she said. We loved listening to her say new words and learn new things! We were attentive to her.

In the same way, God is attentive to our prayers. “Because he inclined his ear to me,” Psalm 116:2 reads, “therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” How amazing is this? He inclines his ear to our prayers, our calls for help!

It’s not as if he merely hears our prayers. It’s not like he simply hears and listens to our prayers. But he hears, listens, and inclines his ear to our prayers!

Though all three overlap somewhat, God inclining his ear displays an eagerness to hear from us, a desire to hear from his children. There is no hesitancy, no annoyance, no distraction. God wants to hear from us. Next time you pray, imagine God leaning down and cupping his ear to hear you crystal clear. You can’t nag God.

God is not in the business of ignoring his children in prayer. Go to him! Pray, pray, pray. You can rest assured that, as a child of God, he is attentive to your prayer. The Lord is eager to hear from you. He wants to listen to your pleas for help, your desire for growth, your prayers for mercy.

This is an excerpt from my latest book Taking No for an Answer: How to Respond When God Says No to Our Prayers.