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The Lord hears the prayer of the righteous
(Proverbs 15:29)
It is reassuring that God hears our prayers. "The effective, fervent prayer
of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16).
God listens to the righteous.
The Psalmist wrote: "Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will
declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He
was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not
hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!"
(Psalm 66:16-20).
We read of many answered prayers in Scripture. God heard the cry of
Ishmael when he and his mother were without water in the desert (Genesis
21:17). God heard Rachel's prayer for a child, and Joseph and Benjamin were
born (Genesis 30:22-24). God heard the cries of the Israelites in Egyptian slavery
(Exodus 2:23,24) and sent Moses to set them free. He heard when they were
hungry and gave them manna (Exodus 16:12). God gave water to the thirsty,
children to the childless, freedom to slaves and food to the hungry.
David's prayer for deliverance was heard: "I will call upon the Lord, who
is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. ... In my distress I
called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His
temple, and my cry entered His ears" (2 Samuel 22:4,7).
God heard the prayer of King Hezekiah and extended his life: "In those
days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of
Amoz, went to him and said to him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Set your house in
order, for you shall die, and not live." ' Then he turned his face toward the wall,
and prayed to the Lord, saying, 'Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have
walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good
in Your sight.' And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And it happened, before Isaiah had
gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
'Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, "Thus says the Lord, the God
of David your father: 'I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I
will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I
will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand
of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the
sake of My servant David' " ' " (2 Kings 20:1-6).
Notice that God was influenced by Hezekiah's prayer. First He said he
would not recover. But because of his fervent prayer, God changed His mind.
Some people think: 'Why should I pray? God will do what He wants anyway.'
This is a big mistake. We should pray fervently because God is influenced by our
prayers.
God heard the prayer of King Josiah and postponed Judah's punishment
until after his reign: "Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the
Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded ... , 'Go,
inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the
words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is
aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book,
to do according to all that is written concerning us.' So Hilkiah the priest,
Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife
of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She
dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her. Then she
said to them, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel, "Tell the man who sent you to
Me, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its
inhabitants -- all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read --
because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might
provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall
be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched." ' " But as for the king of
Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to
him, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Concerning the words which you have
heard -- because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the
Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants,
that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and
wept before Me, I also have heard you,' says the Lord. Surely, therefore, I will
gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and
your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.' " ' So
they brought back word to the king" (2 Kings 22:11-20).
Many answered prayers were fervent prayers.
God listens to those who fear Him, who stand in awe of His greatness,
goodness and power. "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written
before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. 'They
shall be Mine,' says the LORD of hosts, 'on the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him' " (Malachi
3:16,17).
But maybe you are thinking: 'I prayed to God and He did not do what I
asked. Does this mean He has rejected me?' No, not at all. Although God listens
to our prayers and is influenced by our prayers, we must understand that a prayer
is a request subject to His sovereign will. A good father always listens to his
children, but a good father does not do everything his children ask.
Some people view prayer as a kind of remote control of God. He must do
everything they say when they push the buttons.
God is sovereign. He has all wisdom and all knowledge. He knows the
future. Although He allows Himself to be influenced by our prayers, He must do
what is best for the whole world and for all time. You may be praying for
sunshine while a farmer is praying for rain. We must be humble when we pray.
Our prayers are imperfect. "For we do not know what we should pray for as we
ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the
Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of
God" (Romans 8:26,27).
Our prayer makes a real difference. Yet by nature a prayer is always a
request to our sovereign Lord in whose will we acquiesce.
The prayer of Jesus in the garden demonstrates this: "Father, if it is Your
will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done''
(Luke 22:42). An angel came to strengthen Him but He had to drink the cup. His
prayer was heard, however. In Psalm 22, which begins "My God, My God, why
have You forsaken Me?" (verse 1), the triumphant close is introduced in verse 21
with "You have answered Me." The Father heard the prayer of His Son, "who, in
the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with
vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was
heard because of His godly fear" (Hebrews 5:7). God's answer was not
prevention of death but resurrection from the grave, victory over death not only
for Jesus but for all who believe.
Although Paul healed many by the power of God (Acts 19:11,12), his own
request was denied: "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the
abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger
of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I
pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to
me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Let us pray fervently knowing that God hears the prayer of the righteous
(Proverbs 15:29). "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much"
(James 5:16). Let us also understand that prayer is a humble request, a
recognition of God's sovereign power. With Christ we must pray "nevertheless
not My will, but Yours, be done."
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6,7). "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)
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