Being Heard
Do you feel heard by God?
Verse of the Day
‘Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.’
Today’s Devotional
I want us to look back up at the question posed above…”Do you feel heard by God?”
What is your answer?
One of my pet peeves with other humans is when I am talking to them and they are distracted. By their phone or by the TV. It’s not that I require others to make me the center of their attention at all times, but when we are having a conversation, it would be nice if I felt heard.
According to Dr. Michael P.Nichols (in his article The Lost Art of Listening), “The need to be heard is one of the most powerful motive forces in human nature. We define and sustain ourselves in conversations with others. The recognition of being listened to is the response from another person that tells us that our feelings, actions, and intentions are meaningful.
What message are we receiving from others when we don’t feel heard?
For me, the message I receive is:
“You don’t matter to me. Or at least not enough to deserve my full attention.”
Now please hear me. That message I receive in those moments is a LIE. My husband might occasionally be distracted when we are talking, but that does not mean that I don’t matter to him. However, all of us are susceptible to receive wrong messages based on our internal wounds that have yet to be healed and transformed by the grace of Jesus.
If one of our core needs as humans is to be heard by other humans, how much more (as people of faith) do we need to feel heard by God?
Today’s verse is a message to all of us. God knows of our hopes that we aren’t even brave enough to utter. About this specific sentence of this verse, Spurgeon writes, “Sometimes, we have desires that we cannot express; they are too big, too deep; we cannot clothe them in language. At other times, we have desires which we dare not express; we feel too bowed down, we see too much of our own undesert to be able to venture near the throne of God to utter our desires; but the Lord hears the desire when we cannot or dare not turn it into the actual form of a prayer.”
God hears you so well that He even hears what you do not say. How beautiful is that? It reminds me of Romans 8:26. “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”
It is comforting to be heard. It is REALLY comforting to believe, by faith, that we are heard by God. And in believing that we are heard by God, maybe we can take that knowledge a step further and believe that we really do matter to Him. God hears you, sweet friend. Take comfort in that today.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you feel heard by God? Why or why not?
Write a prayer asking for God to show you that He hears you. Then be looking for His answer.
How has God proven to you that you matter to Him?
Comments
Your statement “However, all of us are susceptible to receive wrong messages based on our internal wounds that have not yet been healed and transformed by the Grace of Jesus.” is one of the most accurate and profound statements I have ever read.