The One Who Hears Prayer

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Psalm 65:2 says, “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” 

According to this verse, listening to our prayer is not simply something God does. It is a description of who God is. It is one of his unchanging attributes. Our God is the One who hears prayer.

If you have a friend who goes bike-riding once or twice a year while on vacation, you might say, “Jim rides bikes.” But if have another friend who cycles to and from work every weekday and takes 50-mile bike trips each weekend, you might call her “Sarah – the one who rides bikes.” Do you see the difference?

The psalmist here is not just saying “God hears prayer” – as if hearing prayer were something God does on occasion. The psalmist is naming God, “the One who hears prayer.” Listening to prayer is so much a part of what God does that it describes who God is. God listens to prayer all the time. He is the One who hears prayer.

What makes this verse even more encouraging is to know that the Hebrew word translated “hear” does not merely mean to perceive sounds. It means to listen attentively for the purpose of responding. (NIV translates the verse “you who answer prayer”.)

When believers go to God in prayer, they are approaching One whose very nature it is to listen to their concerns with an intense desire to respond to them. What an amazing thought!

Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash