Ready to Hear – Day 38

Psalm 38

²¹ Do not forsake me, O Lord;
    O my God, do not be far from me;
²² make haste to help me,
    O Lord, my salvation.

In Psalm 38, the Psalmist is crying out to God.  He realizes where he went wrong.  He understands the punishment for his mistakes.  He doesn’t want this to be his ruin.  He doesn’t want this to be the end.  And in the middle of the Psalm, he writes, “But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”  

While the pain and suffering can feel unbearable sometimes, he will wait because he knows God will answer. God will come through.  He knows because God always has.  He knows because God always will.  God is faithful.  He is trustworthy.  And he hears the cries of his children.  

But it can feel like he is so far away, especially when we have pushed him away by doing things our own way or doing what we wanted to do rather than following him.  It can feel as though he does not hear or answer us, admittedly our own fault for this happening.  Yet, God is still with us.  He doesn’t forsake us, abandon us, or give up on us.  He may seem absent because of what we have chosen.  But he is always ready to hear.  There is a prayer which reminds us he is more ready to hear than we are to pray.  God is not the problem, we are.  

When we cry out to him, truly come before him with all of us, he hears us and answers.  He does help us.  He is our salvation.  So if you are feeling a little distant, maybe it’s time to spend a little time waiting, praying and listening.  He is ready to hear.

Almighty and eternal God,
you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,
and to give more than we ask or deserve.
Pour down on us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Source: Gelasian Sacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 

Source of this version: Translation © 2016 Paul C. Stratman