Dear Redeeming Grace,

Last week we enjoyed having Bill Kittrell, Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, preach counsel from the Psalms to us from Psalm 34. In this poem, David reflected on a fearful situation. And through the text, we learned four ways we can respond in our own times of fear. One of those ways was to cry out to the Lord in prayer.

On the surface, it may seem like the easiest thing to do when we are afraid. And yet, we can sometimes still find it difficult. Perhaps we don’t want to admit we’re weak. Or maybe we cling to control, trying to be that “master of our own fate”. We may even struggle to believe that God truly listens or cares enough to act for us.

Whichever of these may put a roadblock in front of our prayers, let’s allow verse 15 to speak truth and encourage us today. 

Psalm 34:15 ESV

“The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears are toward their cry.”

In Christ, you have been made righteous and you belong to God as one of his dearly loved children. This means that his eyes are toward you. His ears are toward you. He’s engaged. David is essentially saying God’s attention is toward you. His eyes are locked on you and his ears hear every word you’re able to get out, and all those that don’t quite form or make it past your lips.

Prayer is a gift of God’s grace to us. We can pour out our hearts before him. We can make our requests known. We can stumble through with honest words, questions and griefs, as we learn to trust that God hears us and answers according to his perfect wisdom.

So whatever fears may come this week, remember that your heavenly Father sees and hears when you cry to him.