“I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God,
and he will hear me.”
Psalm 77:1 (ESV)
It is wonderful to find this beautiful truth in Psalm 77 – which is also declared in so very many ways and places elsewhere the Bible. Nothing compares to how amazing it is that He actually hears OUR prayers.
There are many facets to this jewel. And there are many ways the Lord may choose to answer. But knowing that He hears us has been a profound help to me in my journey of life, and sometimes dramatic. Here is one example.
One day many years ago I took my first wife Kathy up to the hospital for a blood test. It was early in the whole process of her cancer treatment but things had been underway long enough that we should expect to see some results by now. There was a deep worry overshadowing her heart that day because discomfort had returned – the same sort of discomfort in her lungs which declared the horrible problem we now knew to be a very rare and aggressive cancer. To say this was unsettling would be quite an understatement.
We decided that while we were there for routine blood work, we would go and ask if her doctor could see her for a few minutes and check out this trouble.
So, I dropped her off at the waiting room (we were probably the youngest people there) and excused myself to use the bathroom. Only, I didn’t really need the bathroom. I needed a walk and a moment alone. The hospital is big and modern, and seemed to always be in some process of development. The finished hallway I walked down was completely out of the flow of foot traffic and I found myself alone with the Lord in front of a large window. Standing by that big window, I looked out, praying to Jesus.
“Please Help Us! – I’m only a husband – husbands can’t help with a problem like this. I so need you to help us here today somehow, please.” And with similar words I poured out my heart.
Returning to the waiting room, they then directed us to a small examination room. Although her doctor was not there someone would come to see her. So we waited, fighting back tears and trying to fight off the fear of the horrible news we were about to hear. And we waited. And waited. And waited.
Added to her concern was this huge disappointment that her doctor, who knew her so very well, would not be the one to see her. How could she present her situation to a different doctor and know that she was heard and understood? To a stranger! Surely this was going from bad to worse.
After a while, the doctor arrived. He was very kind and highly skilled, calm, attentive … none of those were the best part. He listened. He asked questions and let her answer and explain – all the while assessing. After a while he told her he understood how this would be upsetting. Then assured her he was confident this discomfort was not the cancer. Rather, it was from a procedure they had done in treatment. He knew this with such confidence because he himself had some scars in his lung and understood exactly what Kathy was experiencing when she ate a meal or walked up steps, or bent to tie her shoes, etc. He went on to tell her some other things to expect and other times she would notice this feeling – like when she took a deep breath of cold air.
Wait . ..
What just happened? Our Good Shepherd was watching and helping. He heard my prayer … and wow … answered. Big time.
Not everything is quite that dramatic in my walk of faith. But is it ever really undramatic that God hears us? I wrote a song back then called “The One Who Watches”, maybe I’ll post about that one too. This time I’d like to attach a song I wrote called “He Hears”.
A Walk With Me 