Do you feel like there are times your prayers just crash on the ceiling and never reach Heaven? Even David, who slayed Goliath andwas anointed by God to rule over His chosen people felt that way. But, his relationship with God was so intimate, he could scream at God without fear of reprimand. Look how he starts off Psalm 102 –
Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call! vs 1-2
Today, we can have that same familiar relationship with the creator of the Universe. God can’t tolerate sin, so the Bible says He must turn his face away. David is pleading for Him not to do that. Now, thousands of years later, we, too have that privilege if we have claimed Jesus as the Christ over our lives. God loves us so much He desires to be in close relationship with us. He loves us so dearly He briefly turned His back on His own son dying on the cross as Jesus took on our sins- past present and future- and defeated them.
So why do so many of us Christians “feel” as if God is not listening to our cries? Because solid relationships are never based on feelings, but in immovable trust. That “blessed assurance” our grandparents sung about in church is that God never leaves our side, and all of the things which happens to us – good or bad – is purposeful. That’s a tough concept to wrap our human brains around.
The great thing is God knows that. He knows our faith strength ebbs and flows. It’s okay to demand an audience with the most powerful force in the universe and beyond. Like a human father hears his small child cry “Daddy” and drops everything to reach down and pick up that child, so can our Heavenly Father.
But like the loving parent, He can also practice tough love and let us cry in our cribs until our stubborn will melts away. Does that pain Him? Of course. But that doesn’t mean He has walked away. He is right outside the door listening to our blubbering knowing until we get it out of our system, we won’t concentrate on anything else – like His blessings right in front of us.
The willful child forgets what their parents have already provided – the toys, the soft bed, the fact that they have eaten already that day. They whine because they can’t get what they want RIGHT NOW. Are we any different? No. Does God, our Heavenly Father keep loving us anyway? You bet. Blessed assurance.
