Day 3: Do You Hear Me?
It is quiet and awkward. You are sitting in an empty room waiting to hear a response. You think you said everything that you needed to, but you still don’t know if it will be enough. There is a sensation of stress in your stomach as if you have just finished an interview for a big job. You think, “What if I talked too much? Should I have spent less time reflecting? What if he just thinks I am being selfish? He probably does not even care about this.”
After all of these thoughts have gone through your mind, you finally ask what you have been wanting to ask.
“Do you hear me?”
You ask this simple question with an idea already in your mind. No. Of course not.
This is most of us when we pray. No resolve, no climax. Just words that we think go no further than our own ears hearing them or hearts knowing them.
There is someone who had a similar experience. Someone who we all have heard of. His name is Jesus.
Read:
Matthew 26:36-46
Jesus prayed. He prayed and still was in anguish. He prayed and was not relieved. Jesus prayed that his suffering would pass him. It did not. Silence is something that is not abnormal. It is expected at times. Prayer is not always for us to get what we want, or even need. Sometimes it will make us just sit in silence, and all that we are able to think is “Do you hear me?”
Questions to Consider:
How important is it to you when you pray that you know confidently that God hears your prayers? What keeps us at times from believing that he does?
Prayer:
Lord, you promise that your sheep know your voice and will not follow a stranger’s. Help me to hear your voice, even as I trust that you hear mine every time I call out to you in prayer.
By Caleb Smith