God Hears Me

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin… Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Heb 4:15, 16 (NIV)

When we read the gospels, or watch the TV series The Chosen, we cannot help but notice that we have a Saviour who has a strange attraction for the powerless, a strange connection with the undesirable, a strange love for people at the fringe of society. Brennan Manning in his book “The Ragamuffin Gospel”, aptly describes who we are before God. We come to God as ragamuffins – homeless ones with nothing to offer. The Gospel tells us that God’s acceptance of us is not based on our goodness or righteousness. This is the awesomeness of His amazing grace. God is intimately interested in each one of His children. No matter our state or lack, God will never turn His back on His own.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”  Daniel 10:19 (NLT)

It is not uncommon for us to struggle with many different issues or sense lostness, emptiness, helplessness or even unworthiness; now particularly accentuated by current pandemic. We thank God for our government that the situation in Singapore is under good and wise management.  Preparations are on the road map to transit us into a Covid-resilient society. But the pandemic will be around for a while and its long-term impact on us cannot be underestimated.

What has helped me greatly during this period is being able to talk to God about my up and down times. When you talk to someone who is a close friend, someone you feel totally safe with, you do not have to prepare a speech; you do not have to worry about speaking in beautiful prose or neatly arranged thoughts to make sense. You may even be struggling with expressing how you feel; or you may not even feel like talking. Just turning to God and not saying anything is also saying something. Because God knows what is in our heart. The important thing about talking to God is you are turning your thoughts over  to Him, rather than letting your thoughts take you captive.

• “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV)
• “But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.” Psalm 66:19 (ESV)
• “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 (NLT)
• “God gives to each of us the power and the obligation to affect the events of our time – if we have the faith to pray and the courage to act. Nehemiah has both.” (Love Singapore 40.day2021, July 8)

Start turning over your fears, anxieties, needs and concerns to our Father God. He holds everything in His hands. Ask Him to show you the step to take, give you the courage to act and the faith to trust Him – to enable you to participate in His plans for this time in history. I have been talking to Him daily and very often in the middle of the night when sleep eludes me. He hears and He has greatly encouraged my heart.

By sister Har Lee John