… is just asking God to hear us.
We ask God for a wide variety of actions on His part.
The main action in Psalms and the prevailing theme throughout Scripture is affirmation of connection. “Are You there?” Genuine clear signal between us and God. Dear God, are You there? Did You pickup the phone?
As a reflection on our frailty, we just want to know afresh that God is giving us attention. Like a child.
We seem to crave His gaze.
Just look at me, Daddy!
Glance in my direction.
Hear my voice, please.
Here’s how these requests sound in Scripture:
“If thou wert pure and upright [accusation directed to Job from his friend]; surely now He [God] would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.” Job 8:6.
Job, [says the friend] if you were a good guy, God would wake up and listen to you. That’s the accusation from Job’s friend. Not entirely accurate.
Dear God, please wake up and recognize the situation.
“Stir up Thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord." Psalm 35:23.
Please do not abandon us. That’s how we feel anyway.
“Awake, why sleepest Thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.” Psalm 44:23.
“awake to help me, and behold.” Psa 59:4.
Just look in my general direction.
“LORD, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.” Psalm 4:6.
Possibly we are convinced by our own flesh, our own mind, or the darts of darkness suggest that we are too filthy to attract the attention of our Heavenly Father.
“For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright.” Psalm 11:7.
So it is true that God is attracted to those who are trying to please Him. Maybe I am not righteous enough to turn His head and place His glowing countenance in my direction.
When a child knows their parent is watching, that child is bubbling over with peace and value. “Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy countenance.” Psa 21:6.
Where God casts His eye, He tends to make something happen. “but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them.” Psa 44:3.
Wow. Divine favour. Can there be anything better? Nothing we can think of.
Psalm 89:15, “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of Thy countenance.”
Proverbs 16:15 “In the light of the king's countenance is life;”
Now let’s pause. The countenance is the inner glow that comes out through the facial expressions. Dear Daddy, please allow a brief distraction. Just look over here. Watch this!
“Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance.” Acts 2:28.
A resounding theme throughout the prayer-life examples in our Holy Book is this phrase: “hear me.” Often with a measure of emotional desperation. Like this:
“Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.” Psalm 86:1.
“Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; … hear me!
Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto Thee daily … hear me!
In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee: for Thou wilt answer me. .. hear me!
Teach me Thy way, O LORD; … hear me!
Rejoice the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give Thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of Thine handmaid.
Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because Thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”
What’s the level of urgency above that?
Is there a level above?
Yes, actually.
Not just “hear me” … singular, in prayer.
But listen to this verse: Romans 8.
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth [in great work] in pain together until now. [and why the sound of groaning and pain? Please see previous verse:] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
Groaning for deliverance. Into liberty.
This concept then continues. A fluid transition into verse 26 with the connective word:
LIKEWISE … just like what we are already talking about, which is groaning for deliverance according to the promise of liberty eventually … “LIKEWISE the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us [here’s the “likewise”] with groanings [same word] which cannot be uttered.”
Means essential the Spirit of God makes intersession for us and with us with groanings … pain in the spirit which cannot be properly placed into normal words.
The Spirit of God is going with us and on our behalf to the Father God, with great pressing, a squeezing of the inner man, so that our soul and spirit are in teamwork with the Holy Spirit … both praying & pleading our case.
“And He that searcheth the hearts {This is Jesus} knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He {Christ} maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Now we have engaged the Spirit on our team of payer warriors.
And Christ chimes in, because He knows what is on the mind of the Spirit.
The Spirit is groaning with us to the Father.
The Son is expressing the correct words, according to the mind of the Spirit since the Spirit is making incoherent utterances.
All in presentation to the Father.
A concert of prayer.
An orchestra of prayer.
A pleasant arrangement of harmonized prayer.
The Father delights to answer His Son Jesus, and His Spirit, with your spirit.
Prayer is a spiritual workout.
Prayer is sweating in the spirit.
“And we know … the Father desires to answer in the affirmative, working things together for His good and the good of the most people possible as a result of answering this prayer. Good for God. Good for others. And Good for you.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Intro leading up to the crescendo to the famous 8:28 is intensive prayer.
Spirit led and Spirit-assisted prayer.
Groaning prayer.
Full trinity involvement prayer.
How next-level love is God willing to go?
How ambitious is God to answer our properly-filtered prayer?
“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
“[God the Father] that spared not His own Son [Christ Jesus the Righteous], but delivered [the Saviour] up for us all [as an indescribable sacrifice], how shall [the Father God] not with [Christ] also freely give us all things [that we properly ask for through assistance with the Spirit in prayer]?”
We pray.
The top request we seem to make is, “Dear God, are you listening?” Essentially, “Do You love me, God?”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that [nothing + nothing + nothing x10] shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Then praise for having evidence of obtaining an audience with the King.
Then praise for actually getting a moment of God’s ear!
Then thankfulness for having been heard.
“The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.” Psalm 6:9.
Psalm 18:6, “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: He HEARD my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.”
Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”
Psalm 116:1, “I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications.”
Lamentations 3:56, “Thou hast heard my voice: hide not Thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.”
O Dear God, Please Hear Me!