He Sees, He Hear (episode 39)

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,040
Today, we will discover that God promises that He's watching and listening.

2
00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,220
Do you love a prodigal?

3
00:00:12,220 --> 00:00:17,920
Do you feel like you're lost in a scary and endless wilderness?

4
00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,460
Welcome to the When You Love a Prodigal podcast.

5
00:00:21,460 --> 00:00:27,240
I am Judy Douglass, and I spent more than 15 years in that wilderness.

6
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:33,800
I believe together we will discover help and hope for your journey.

7
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:39,800
Last week we discovered that every name of God is a promise, that He will always be true

8
00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,040
to the many names He has.

9
00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,560
This week we explore two promises He has made to us.

10
00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,720
He sees, He hears.

11
00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:51,720
Invisible.

12
00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:58,960
I almost didn't see her pressing tightly to the road sign, practically invisible.

13
00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:05,360
She was clearly homeless, preferring to hide, but needing to be seen with her cardboard

14
00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,360
sign, Homeless Please Help.

15
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,220
God has given me many opportunities to interact with homeless people.

16
00:01:14,220 --> 00:01:20,120
Do you know what the most consistent word they use to describe how they feel?

17
00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,040
Invisible.

18
00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:29,120
People turn their head, move to the side, or even cross the street to avoid them.

19
00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:35,080
Anything but seeing them, looking into their eyes, and speaking to them.

20
00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:37,760
Is that how you feel sometimes?

21
00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:39,760
Or even often?

22
00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:41,160
Invisible?

23
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,440
Unknown?

24
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:44,440
Unnoticed?

25
00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:52,880
At work, or at school, or in your church, or in your neighborhood, or even with your

26
00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:54,880
family.

27
00:01:54,880 --> 00:02:03,080
I am so grateful that our God has names that assure us that we are not invisible to Him.

28
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,440
He sees and He hears.

29
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:13,440
He sees what is happening with our prodigals and with us, and He hears their cries and

30
00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,520
our prayers.

31
00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:22,040
Be encouraged with these reminders of His attention to our needs and that God sees and

32
00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,200
hears.

33
00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,000
Sometimes we wonder where God is.

34
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,540
Is He off taking care of wars in the Middle East, or earthquakes in Haiti, or droughts

35
00:02:32,540 --> 00:02:36,840
in Africa, or floods in Asia?

36
00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:43,760
Is He attending to great political events, or healing the multitudes with cancer, or

37
00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,920
caring for all of those with COVID?

38
00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:48,760
Where is God?

39
00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:55,360
Does He even see me, or this prodigal that I love and pray for?

40
00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:57,760
That's how Hager must have felt.

41
00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,200
We read about her in the book of Genesis.

42
00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:09,680
A slave to Baron Sarai, now pregnant with Abram's child, she is resented and abused

43
00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,640
by Sarai.

44
00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:15,840
So Hager flees to the desert.

45
00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:23,520
There an angel of the Lord greets her and says, go back, go back to your mistress.

46
00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:32,280
Be assured that you will have a son who will be the father of multitudes.

47
00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,320
Hager responds, you are the God who sees me.

48
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:43,120
I have now seen El-Roy, the one who sees me.

49
00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:50,120
That same God, though He shoulders all the cares of the world, cares for us and for those

50
00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:51,300
we love.

51
00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:55,720
He is El-Roy, the God who sees.

52
00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:01,700
He sees our hearts for our prodigals, the pain that they cause us, the despair that

53
00:04:01,700 --> 00:04:05,680
overwhelms us, and the fear that grips us.

54
00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,820
And He sees our loved ones.

55
00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:13,040
He knows where they are, what they are doing, even though we may not.

56
00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:19,360
But He also knows the pain they're feeling, the torture of addiction, the fears that pursue

57
00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:20,960
them.

58
00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,820
And He also sees the future He has for them.

59
00:04:24,820 --> 00:04:34,480
They run and hide, but God knows exactly where to find them and how to woo them home to Himself

60
00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,700
and to you who love Him.

61
00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:43,020
Though they are out of our sight, they are never out of God's sight.

62
00:04:43,020 --> 00:04:48,960
But He doesn't just see our God, He also hears.

63
00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,760
We pray and pray and pray.

64
00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:58,880
Our willingness to pray assumes that someone is listening.

65
00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:01,000
But sometimes we wonder.

66
00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:07,080
Our prayers seem to hit the ceiling or disappear into the clouds.

67
00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:16,800
We beg, beseech, cajole, bargain, and yet too often we feel like we have not been heard.

68
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,220
No one is listening.

69
00:05:19,220 --> 00:05:23,180
We don't see the answers we desire.

70
00:05:23,180 --> 00:05:27,880
But our God is a God who hears us.

71
00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:33,020
We learn of Shammah in the Psalms.

72
00:05:33,020 --> 00:05:38,820
Psalm 34, the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them.

73
00:05:38,820 --> 00:05:43,660
He delivers them from all their troubles.

74
00:05:43,660 --> 00:05:50,560
We can be assured that our God is not deaf or distracted or indifferent.

75
00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:57,840
As we cry out to God for our loved ones, He is Shammah, and He hears.

76
00:05:57,840 --> 00:05:59,680
But there's more.

77
00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,280
In the New Testament, we also learn that He hears.

78
00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:07,120
Our God is called Akuo.

79
00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,680
I don't know a lot of Greek, you know.

80
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:10,920
Akuo.

81
00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,180
He is alert, tuned in to us.

82
00:06:14,180 --> 00:06:18,440
He is listening, but He's also hearing.

83
00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,560
Sometimes we listen, but it goes right in and out.

84
00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,080
God, no.

85
00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,480
He's listening and hearing.

86
00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,920
And in 1 John, we get this assurance.

87
00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:34,460
This is the competence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to

88
00:06:34,460 --> 00:06:40,920
His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us whatever we ask, we know that

89
00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,040
we have what we have asked of Him.

90
00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:45,840
This is present tense.

91
00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:49,600
Literally, it means that God is hearing us.

92
00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,320
He is always in the midst of hearing our prayers.

93
00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:59,920
And if you're like me, those prayers are frequent and often, and just over and over

94
00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:01,260
sometimes.

95
00:07:01,260 --> 00:07:03,140
And God is listening.

96
00:07:03,140 --> 00:07:04,480
He's part of it.

97
00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,360
He's hearing what I am asking.

98
00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,460
It's a promise.

99
00:07:09,460 --> 00:07:13,480
Is it God's desire for those prodigals to come to Him?

100
00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,120
Oh yes, we know it is.

101
00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:22,760
So we can come to Him with confidence that He hears our petitions, our cries for something

102
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,900
that He really wants to have happen.

103
00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:31,200
He longs for fellowship with those dear ones more than we do.

104
00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:37,580
And He is, in His perfect ways and times, lovingly drawing them to Himself.

105
00:07:37,580 --> 00:07:40,580
We are so blessed.

106
00:07:40,580 --> 00:07:44,200
Our God sees us and our loved ones.

107
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,660
He sees it all.

108
00:07:46,660 --> 00:07:49,260
He listens for our voices.

109
00:07:49,260 --> 00:07:55,880
We can be assured that His eyes are on us and His ears are listening.

110
00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,200
That is a promise.

111
00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,200
Now think for a minute.

112
00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:08,360
When have you experienced that God sees and hears?

113
00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:13,160
When have you had the sense that, okay, God's there.

114
00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:14,340
He's with me.

115
00:08:14,340 --> 00:08:15,960
He sees what's happening.

116
00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,760
He knows the terrible things my prodigal did.

117
00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,760
He knows how inadequate I feel.

118
00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:26,080
He sees it and He hears my cries.

119
00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,080
When have you experienced that?

120
00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:33,640
Is when we are at the point where we feel invisible and we feel that we're not being

121
00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:34,640
heard.

122
00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:41,360
It's good to remember when we have been assured that we are visible to God and He's hearing

123
00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,120
us.

124
00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:50,840
And when you are praying, how does the promise that God is paying full attention to you help

125
00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:52,300
you?

126
00:08:52,300 --> 00:08:53,680
Think about that.

127
00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:57,080
God bless you.

128
00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,840
Thank you for joining me today on the When You Love a Prodigal podcast.

129
00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:09,160
If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple podcasts

130
00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:11,740
or wherever you listen.

131
00:09:11,740 --> 00:09:18,040
Your review helps the show reach more people with the hope and encouragement of Jesus.

132
00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,160
Don't forget, take a look at the show notes.

133
00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:28,600
And for more helpful information, resources, and books, check out judydouglass.com.

134
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,480
That's Douglass with two S's.

135
00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:38,640
You can find me on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram at JudyDouglass417.

136
00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:52,160
Until next week.