Hear My Prayer

Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help.  Psalms 86:1

As I sat at dinner with my family a few weeks back, and my children engaged in another night of who can talk the loudest and gain everyone’s attention, I sat there and wondered if anyone really cared about what had happened during my day?  Earlier I had greeted my husband as he walked through the door with the usual “Hi honey, how was your day?” but honestly, I don’t even think I listened to the response.  Not that I don’t care how his day was, but I was so wrapped up in getting dinner on the table that I was too distracted to take 30 seconds and focus on his words.

We get so wrapped up in what we want to say, what we need to do or how important our stuff is, that sometimes I wonder if we have all forgotten how to connect with each other.  In a world filled with depression, loneliness, sadness and pain; I wonder how much of that could be healed if we just stopped what we were doing for 5 minutes and listened.  Stopped worrying about ourselves for 5 minutes and truly opened our hearts and ears to others.

In Psalms 86:1 David cries out to the Lord “Bend down … and hear my prayer”.  David was so desperate to have a connection to God in that moment that he was asking God, please stop what you are doing and just listen to me.  You are sitting here thinking, yeah but it’s David, God’s anointed one.  Of course, God is going to listen to him. 

God listens to you too.  He wants to hear your prayers.  It doesn’t matter if you are 3 or 103, God is waiting to stop everything and listen to your every word.  In fact, He is sitting there right now just waiting for you to talk to Him, share your day with Him and spend time with Him. 

No prayer is too small, too silly, too meaningless or whatever excuse you can come up with, God wants to share everything with you.  In 1 Peter 3:12 the Bible says “…His (God’s) ears are open to their (the righteous) prayers.”  And in chapter 5:7 it says, “cast all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you.”  He cares for you!  He desires to be close to you, to know you, to listen to you and to be connected to you. 

This week I challenge you with 2 things…

1. Spend time in prayer just getting to know God.  Share your day, and begin to just share things with God that you may think are small and insignificant. 

2. Stop and listen to the people around you.  Truly listen.    Put down your phone, turn off the TV and open your ears and your heart to those around you.

God loves you and wants to be close to you. Prayer can happen any time.  Just open your heart and just have a conversation with God.  Be willing to talk to God like you would a friend.  Hi God, it’s me ________.