God Hears Us
The first grader called the number for emergency dispatch. The 9-1-1 operator answered. “I need help,” said the boy. “I have to do take-aways.” The operator proceeded to assist, until he heard a woman enter the room and say, “Johnny, what are you doing?” Johnny explained that he couldn’t do his math homework, so he did exactly what his mother had taught him to do when he needed help. He called 9-1-1. To Johnny, his current need qualified as an emergency. To the compassionate listener, helping the young boy with his homework was top priority in that moment.
When the psalmist David needed help, he said, “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is” (Psalm 39:4 nlt). He said, “My hope is in” God (v. 7). So, he pleaded for Him to hear and answer his “cry for help” (v. 12). Then, strangely, he asked God to “look away from” him (v. 13). Though David’s needs remain unspoken, throughout Scripture he declared that God would always be with him, hearing and answering his prayers.
Our confidence in God’s constancy allows us to process our fickle feelings, while affirming there’s no request too big or too small for the unchanging One. He hears us, cares for us, and answers every prayer we utter.
By Xochitl Dixon - Daily Bread Ministries
Psalm 39:4–13 (NIV):
4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.
10 Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth—
surely everyone is but a breath.
12 “Hear my prayer, Lord,
listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
before I depart and am no more.”
