Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. (Isaiah 59:1)
I know it can feel like God has turned a deaf ear when you cry out to Him and heaven seems to have gone stonily silent. But it only seems like this is true. I also know that the Bible warns us that unrepentant sin and rebellion can get in the way of our prayers to God. This is true. When we have deliberately turned a deaf ear to God and all He has taught in His Word, our prayers can be an abomination to God (Proverbs 28:9). But make no mistake, nothing ever gets in the way of God hearing our prayers — not Satan and not even our sin. God hears our every prayer, and as I have said here before, He gives one of three different responses: “Go,” “No,” or “Grow.” Only when we are spending adequate time in His presence will we be able to discern the answer He has given us.
God loves to hear from us about everything that is taking place in our lives. As the prophet Isaiah said in our verse for today, the Lord’s ear is never too dull to hear. A dull, deaf ear is simply not a possibility for our God. The psalmist exulted, “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1-2). That is a word of encouragement that should encourage us all to cry out to God day and night. He hears our prayers and He responds to all of them. And when He does not respond to our cries in the way we expect, it is simply because He is planning to exceed our expectations.
When we sin — and we do that often — we need to go to the One who is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We can and should “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Have you been feeling like God has turned a deaf ear to your prayers? If you are not getting a “Yes” from God, and you have settled your sin account with Him by confessing your sins and trusting in Jesus Christ’s atoning work on your behalf, simply rest in the knowledge that God’s thoughts are not your thoughts and His ways are not your ways (Isaiah 55:8). His answer of “No” or “Grow” is for your ultimate good and His glory. Let that truth set you free to keep on crying out to the One, who never turns a deaf ear to you.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 