I love to listen to my little granddaughter talk and Bexlie loves to talk! She’ll go on and on about a flower or a cat or whatever’s caught her attention at the moment. However, there is one problem. I’m 6’2” and hard-of-hearing and she’s about 2’6” and has a quiet little voice. I really have to strain to hear her sometimes, especially if I forget to put on my hearing aids.
So, what’s the solution? I have to get down to her level. I have to bend down so I can listen. The funny thing is, when I’m at her eye level she pays a lot more attention to what I have to say too.
It’s the same with our Heavenly Father. Psalm 116:2 says that when we pray God “bends down to listen…” (NLT). It’s not that God is hard of hearing. He can hear the quietest whisper of a child and “knows every plan and thought.” (1 Chronicles 28:9). God hears us just fine, but He bends down to listen, because it brings us closer together, so we can have a more intimate conversation.
That is why Jesus came, to bring us closer to God. “Though he was God…he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” (Philippians 2:6-7). In Jesus, God literally bent down to our level, becoming a human. And Christ’s work didn’t end at the cross, because “He lives forever to intercede with God on [our] behalf.” (Hebrews 7:25).
Because of what Jesus did and is still doing for us, we know God hears our prayers. Just like I love to hear what Bexlie has to say, God loves to hear your prayers. In fact, He is bending down to listen to you and me right now. And, “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:2).
Won’t you join me?