I have a dear friend who is a blessing to me. She’s quick to offer me assistance when I need help and is willing to go the extra mile for me. (And I mean that literally.) We attend the same church, so I see her often. At a recent social function she was helping me get a hot cup of tea. In discussing what kind of tea I wanted, I mentioned that I had a hankering for some Constant Comment which is one of my favorite teas. A few days later she approached me after the Sunday morning church service with a gift bag in her hand and told me it was a belated birthday gift. There were several items in the bag, but the thing that gave me the most joy was the box of Constant Comment tea at the bottom of the bag! I was moved by the fact that she actually heard me! She heard, she listened, and she responded. Not everybody does.

I never expected to be hard of hearing. In my naivety, I had this inane idea that it wouldn’t happen to me. After all, I have enough issues to deal with! But it did happen to me and it is both frustrating and annoying! It’s frustrating to me and annoying to others. Sometimes as hard as I try I cannot hear what the other person is saying. I don’t mean to be rude or to ignore them, I just can’t hear!

But it isn’t just those who suffer from hearing loss that do not hear. There are other reasons that people fail to listen. It has to do with focus. When a person is focused on themselves it affects their ability to hear. They cannot hear because they’re too busy talking or intent on planning what they’re going to say next or thinking about something totally different than what the other person is saying.

Technology also affects our focus and ability to hear. The television blaring in the living room and the phone in our hand draws our attention away from those around us. It’s happened to me. I suddenly become aware that someone is speaking and I sheepishly ask “Oh, are you talking to me?”

Years ago there was a popular Verizon commercial that featured a man going around to far away and unusual locations with his cellphone and asking “Can you hear me now?” It became a popular catchphrase that is still used today. We say it with a chuckle and yet it’s a question that sometimes needs to be asked. Can you hear me now? It’s a joy to have a friend respond with “I hear you!”

But have you ever asked God that question? Have you ever wondered if He hears you? Let me assure you, He does! God’s answer to your question is YES! I hear you! Isaiah 59:1 tells us that God is not “too deaf to hear your call.” When nobody else will hear you or listen to you, He will! A line from an old, old chorus reminds us, “He’s not too busy to hear your heart’s cry.” Consider these verses:

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. –Psalm 34:17 (NLT) I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. –Psalm 17:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God, He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry came before Him, even to his ears. –Psalm 18:6 …the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping, the Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord will receive my prayer. –Psalm 6:8,9

However, we are warned in Scripture that our sins can come between us and the ears of God. That verse in Isaiah that tells us God is not deaf goes on to say this in the next verse, “…your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.” How disheartening! But we have these encouraging words of David:

If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear. BUT certainly God has heard me, He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God who has not turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me. –Psalm 66:18-20

God is a ready listener. He leans toward us ready to hear us when we call on Him. If we humble ourselves before Him, He promises to hear our prayers. God hears us! He listens, He understands, and He responds!

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