Psalm 116 NLT
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! (1-2)
Prayer is the ultimate privilege. The God of the Universe—the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords—listens to us when we pray and He answers. I challenge you to sit back for a few minutes and just meditate on that thought. Think of how big the world is and how minuscule you are in comparison. Think of all that is happening, all of those who are currently praying, all the very heavy things that God is in the middle of doing right now, and yet, He hears and answers. When I consider the vastness of the universe and my own unimportance, that blows my mind.
Why would God listen to my prayer? Why would he actually “bend down to listen?” The psalmist puts it as if the Lord is stopping everything else He is doing and simply bending down and focusing on a single individual. Here is the secret truth of the matter… He doesn’t hear my voice and answer my prayer because of my worthiness or because of His great pity for my situation. He listens because His Spirit lives within me and the righteousness of His son rests on me. Only the prayer offered in Jesus’ name grabs the Father’s attention, and it is on the merit of His Son that we approach the throne of grace with our petitions.
Just like everything else in the world, prayer is not about me. Prayer is about Jesus, and the access and standing I have are in His name alone. Like the Psalmist, I must agree that makes me love the Lord. I love with all my heart the God who would hear my voice and answer my prayer for mercy. The fact that He gives me His undivided attention thrills me to the core and also convicts me for all the times I have taken that for granted. This realization should motivate us to join the psalmist and pray as long as we have breath. Let us pray continually… let us pray with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Let us honor the Lord by taking advantage of this incredible privilege He gives us in the name of Jesus.
