“Mom, mom, mom,” utters my son over & over. I stop what I’m doing & give him my full attention. Only then does he proceed with what he needed to say. More times than not it’s a general statement or question. “I’m glad the sun was shining today.” “Is today Tuesday?” Clearly, neither so mind boggling that I could not reply to him while still completing the task at hand. Have you ever found yourself telling your kiddo, “just because I’m not looking at you doesn’t mean I can’t hear you.” It’s almost like their little minds tell them “no direct eyesight = mom cannot hear what I’m saying.” Which got me to thinking, has God ever said that to me?
Maybe your relationship with God is going as smoothly as you desire. Perhaps you’ve never felt disconnected from Him. Maybe you’ve never questioned if He can hear you. If that’s you, we need to have coffee because I have questions. I think most of us would agree we’ve had those thoughts before. We seek to be seen & heard by Him, but feel like a child who needs to repeatedly get His attention. “God, hello God, right here God, can you hear me? Do I have your full attention?” But what if He is looking at us the whole time?
Is it possible His eyes are laser focused on us? That the one moment we take our eyes off of Him is when He is zoned in on our current need? (For clarification, I don’t actually believe that He ever takes His eyes off of us. Unlike with my children when I truly can be listening, but not looking.) Is it possible that I’m defining what His eyes on me looks like?
If…
- God saw me right now then things would be better?
- God is listening then I would already be healed?
- I mattered to God then I wouldn’t be drowning in bills?
- God cares then He would have opened a new door at my job?
- God was actually good then my loved one would still be alive?
If God________________then_______________? The possibilities for those two blanks are endless.
Just like I’ve said to my son so many times, let me remind us all; just because we don’t feel like God is looking doesn’t mean He can’t hear us. His ears are wide open. We define (unknowingly I think at times) how we will recognize that He hears us. Too often, that definition is our prayers being answered in the ways we desire. What we desire isn’t always what is best. Sometimes we may get exactly what we prayed for, but God isn’t some genie waiting to grant us our wishes.
You Have My Full Attention
He knows every day of our lives & has before any of us lived a single one of them. Is there any circumstance you can look back on & actually offer a prayer of thanksgiving that God didn’t give you exactly what you prayed for? How different would life be if He had allowed you to stay in that relationship, move to that city, provided that job opportunity, etc? Would you have met your current spouse, have the friendships you’ve grown, or be aware of the even better job that was right around the corner?
So much could be unpacked when we think about how we know God is listening. For now, let’s remember to be more open minded. Instead of defining what Him listening will look like, let’s change our view. May we be more willing to say, “God help me to hear Your voice more clearly. Help me to see how near You are, to trust Your ways, & to be open to Your goodness for my life.”
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