I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:4-6)
The book of Samuel records the story of Hannah, a barren woman who desperately wanted to have a son. Not being able to conceive was bad enough but her husband’s second wife, who had borne children, teased her mercilessly thus making a bad situation worse. On a pilgrimage to the tabernacle at Shiloh, she sought the Lord and prayed earnestly that He would allow her to conceive. When the High Priest inquired about her obvious state of distress she replied, “I am a woman of sorrowful spirit” (1 Samuel 1:15). The Bible says that the Lord heard her petition and, in time, she conceived a son she called Samuel.
To know that the Lord hears our prayers is comforting but to see the evidence that He heard our prayer is priceless. Imagine the joy that Hannah felt when she realized she was expecting a child. To know that the Creator of the Universe heard the simple prayer of one person in a world filled with billions staggers the mind. Many years ago when my wife and I were young and not so prosperous, we found ourselves in what we thought were dire financial straits. On Wednesday we realized that we desperately needed $50 by the next day or our world was going to get complicated. We went to church that evening, told no one of our plight, but prayed fervently that the Lord would help us in the situation. That night when we arrived back home, I noticed an envelope taped to our front door; inside was a $50 bill. To this day, we don’t know where it came from.
I realize that $50 doesn’t sound like much, but at that time in our lives it was going to be the difference between being able to breathe and going under. It’s not the amount that matters; it matters that God heard us and responded to our situation thus emboldening us to believe Him to provide and protect us. As David said, when the poor cry out, God hears them and delivers them from their troubles. It is obvious that God’s heart is tender toward those who are broken, poor and desperate because they realize their only hope is in the Lord. And while no one really likes the notion of being poor, everyone of us should remain poor in spirit, for as Messiah says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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