Tuesday 3 November, 2020

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone “turning a deaf ear” on you? Certain members of my family are sometimes accused of this…Perhaps it has been because they were distracted or preoccupied. Or perhaps because they were not interested in what I was saying, and they were filtering out my words. Either way it is disconcerting and off-putting.

This psalm reminds us that our God is never like that. He leans an ear to hear from me – my praise, my despair, my need. His ear is tuned to hear from me, not to filter out my prayers. His heart is to care, to know us. It is two-way communication. What a blessing to hear from him!

V 1 suggests God had been silent in the face of David’s prayer. He was still waiting for God to answer. This is my experience too. The answers are often a gradual dawning of the reality of God working in my circumstances, but there are always answers to my pleas for his help.

This is because God is merciful – v 6. In my life his mercy has shown me forgiveness, has taught me, has restored me when I felt lifeless, and rebuilt my trust and faith. It is hard to adequately describe his mercy over my life, but my heart is so thankful.

Dear Lord God, by faith I will always have you as my strength and shield. This isn’t what I have achieved or earnt; it is by your faithfulness. I am so humbled to be yours dear Lord.

Written by Claire Moore