God Listened

Some people are very cynical about prayer. Frankly, they don't think it "works." They do not think God is listening to what they are asking. They don't think it makes a difference, so they stop praying. That is the worst thing anyone can do, especially those who profess to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is that God's hearing is very good, and He is always listening to everything we say, and He is always tuned in to what we say to Him. God loves for His children to pray. Therefore, we know God hears us, but our questions come when we don't get the answer we desire. We can learn some good lessons about God listening to our prayers from Abraham's prayer and God's answer. (Genesis 19:29) When God saw the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, He decided to destroy the entire area. Abraham made a request to the Lord before that happened. After the fire and brimstone fell, we are told that God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot, his nephew, safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. Let's see what we can learn from this. 

God listens to us for several reasons, which we see in this account. We must be praying in faith that comes from our trust in God, the Almighty, All-Wise, and All-Loving God. We can't be praying out of doubt and cynicism. Also, we can't be asking God for something that is against His will. God would be guilty of sin, if He was talked into doing something that He knew was not the best. Another reason God doesn't hear us is if we are praying in a selfish way just to get what we want. (James 4:3) However, when we pray in faith, and we pray in line with God's will and His character, He will listen. Often, He will do His will in the way we suggest, like He did for Abraham. His request appealed to God's perfect justice, as he asked to spare the righteous in the cities. That is what God did. He listened, and He had His angels take Lot, his wife, and his daughters out by the hand, so they would not be destroyed. Therefore, when we pray, let's remember to base our request on what we know about God from the Bible, and let's ask Him to hear our desire. When we do that, there is a great chance that we will see God listen and do what we ask. It doesn't always happen, because we can't see the full will of God, but it is more likely because God always acts in His nature of love and holiness.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 20-23.