Jump Start # 460 

Psalm 116:1-2 “I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.” 

  The Psalmist found something that many never realize—God is good. God wants us. He wants us to seek Him, to follow Him, to obey Him and here in this passage to talk to Him.

  God hears my voice…He has inclined His ear to me. That’s amazing. It’s hard for us to grasp that. We don’t see this anywhere else. Often, folks in the church are so busy with their lives that they don’t have time to “incline their ears” to us. Most feel that politicians have turned their ear away from them. They aren’t listening to the very people who put them in office. Kids can feel that parents don’t listen. Parents feel that kids don’t listen. The preacher wonders if the audience listens. In a marriage, couples can be distant and not interested in listening. The Mars and Venus books are so popular because it seems there are different languages being spoken in the house and no one understands.

  It seems that everyone is talking and no one is listening…except for God. He is listening. He always has. He listens when I whine about how no one understands and how hard things are. He listens when I ask them for help. He is attentive to my praise and thankfulness. He hears.

  I especially like two expressions from our verse today.

He hears MY voice. My voice. Each of us have a unique voice. We have our own accent. We put emphasis upon certain syllables and have our own unique sound. Some of us squeak when we talk. Some have a thunderous deep voice. Some are loud. Some are soft. Get a group of people together and a child will say, “Mom,” and that mother will respond. She knows the voice of her child. God knows your voice, not just the sound, but what you are asking, saying, expressing. It’s not someone else’s voice. We don’t go through levels of angels before someone takes our request before God, the passage says, He hears MY VOICE. A direct line straight to God. You don’t have that with the governor, the CEO and often even at home. But you do with God. This expresses the closeness and the intimacy between you and God. He hears Your Voice.

  Because of that relationship, the Psalmist declares that he will call upon God as long as he lives. A life long dedication. He enjoys that relationship. He longs for God. This is not a one time setting with God, this is a journey that goes with you until the very end. A life long follower of God. A life long prayer. A life long journey with God.

  Sometimes things happen and we find ourselves in and out with God. We walk with Him a while and then we part. Things get messy and we return. After a while, we go off again, and then we return. Back and forth. That defines many people I know. When they are with God it’s great. When they are on their own, it’s ugly. You’d think they’d stay with God, but they don’t.  The Psalmist gives us another picture. Here is one who is staying with God. As he grows, he never outgrows God. As the journey goes through some dark moments, he hangs in with God. As long as I live…that’s awesome. I wish all could experience that.

  As his faith has matured, his prayers have grown. As he has learned, his eyes and his prayers have reflected that.

  As long as I live…my voice will talk to God! How about today? Let God know what’s going on in your heart and your world. He wants to hear from you.

  Today we are one day closer to Heaven!

Roger