The Lord Hears Them
Psalm 34:17 New International Version
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
Who are the righteous? The righteous are the people of God. They are all those who have come to put their faith in Jesus Christ. Those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ are justified by their faith in Him. The word of God tells us that Abraham believed God and was declared righteous (Genesis 15:6). If we were able to earn our righteousness, we wouldn’t need God and we wouldn’t need faith. God could have simply said here is a bunch of rules, make sure you follow them perfectly. But what the law of God reveals is that man is in need of a savior. Israel had the law and was unable to keep it throughout their history.
The promise to us is if we cry out to Jesus, He will hear us. The phrase cry out here means shout, call out; cry; muster, — to utter aloud, often with surprise, horror, or joy. When we cry out to God we are not only crying out in a time of trouble, but we cry out with the expectation that God will indeed answer. He knows every hair that is on the top of our heads. He knows every need we have before we even ask. He knows every battle we will face, and His grace is sufficient for all things.
But why is it important to cry out? Because it is when we cry out that we operate in faith. When we operate in faith the power of God is released to accomplish the will of God. God may know the battles we will face, but He has called us to act on His word and pray. When we pray, we are crying out to God. There are things we face in life that feel overwhelming for a reason because they can’t be overcome in our own strength. But when we cry out to God, we invite Him into the process to take over and place the battle in His hands.
The result of our praying or crying out is that Jesus will deliver us. The word deliver here means pull out, save; be saved, be secure; save oneself; tear from; remove, withdraw, — to free from harm or evil, and in some cases from imprisonment . Jesus is going to intervene and deliver or free us from evil. In His model prayer before the disciples Jesus even prayed “deliver us from evil”. What this tells us is satanic opposition and attack is indeed real. When our hearts and lives are given over to God and we begin to live for God, the devil is not going to sit idly by and simply watch. He will watch, but he is also determining when the perfect time of attack is. How we defeat the devil is in the place of prayer using the authority we have in Christ.
Understanding this should not only shape the way we pray, but also understand that battle is inevitable and as we begin each day the cry of our heart should be that God would not only deliver us from evil, but He would deliver all those that God has placed on our hearts. There should be people that we pray for on a daily basis. Some of these people will include family members and loved ones. But there should be other people as we go through life that God highlights that we begin to pray for. If they have no relationship with Jesus, our prayer should be that their hearts would be softened to the gospel and that the seeds of the gospel would be planted.
Prayer
Father thank you for hearing us. Jesus thank you for making a way that when we draw near there is no longer fear. When we cry out you hear every time and answer according to your will. Father help us to be patient. Help us to wait upon your help and deliverance. Thank you that your promises are sure and that you are truly working mightily in the unseen. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
תגובות