Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.”

I Peter 3:12 – “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers;”

Excerpt from Chapter 3

of

A Reason to Pray at Mountianview

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“WHAT IF … the Lord is always waiting for you to pray to Him? WHAT IF … when you put your mind on Him and reached out to Him, He was right there waiting, listening, and welcoming you to share from your heart? Mark, what if?”

“I’d say that’s a pretty big ‘What if’! It’s quite a picture you’re painting.”

Paul couldn’t keep from smiling as he responded, “Well, that’s the picture that HE PAINTED in the verse that you just read: ‘His ears are open.’ He is never turned away from you, meaning He is watching and waiting to hear you pray … to Him.”

Mark stared at the verse as God’s words began shaping his thinking. Paul continued.

“And you know what else you can bank on from this verse? It tells you that your heavenly Father will never say, ‘I don’t have time for you right now, come back later.’ He will never say, ‘You’re late’ or ‘You should have been here earlier.’

“This verse is so full of life and insight into the heart of the Lord towards his children. When you read it, be reminded of these insights and they will help lift you to the clouds.”

Mark could feel his heart strengthened with hope. “Then I should never think that God is going to say something like, ‘Mark, you brought this mess on yourself. You’re going to have to get yourself out of it. Right?”

“No, never! The Scriptures say to cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. And in Hebrews 4:16, we are told to go to Him to, ‘obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ You see, we don’t have to struggle and wander about in fear. We can find mercy and grace to help when in need.”

Paul continued, “Now for the next layer of bricks. I want you to think about something over the next few days.”

Mark was ready, or least he thought that he was. “Mark, you are THE righteous that this verse is referring to. It does not mean that you are righteous because you are such a good person, but because of Jesus Christ. HE MADE YOU RIGHTEOUS in God’s eyes. In a nutshell, God provided everything. He’s done it all. Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection has made you clean and acceptable. It has also opened a father-son relationship between you and God, which is completely and eternally unhindered and eternally binding. There are no speed bumps between you and the favor and the mercy of God. Nah, dah! Nothing!”

Mark looked across the room at the crucifix of Christ in the front of the chapel and thought about Paul’s words. This was the gospel that brought him to his knees years ago when he visited a local church near his home. It was the simple message that opened his eyes and led him to saving grace. That simple message of what Jesus Christ did for him on the cross always warmed his heart and quieted his mind. It could still stir his heart like it did that special day many years ago.

“I know what you’re saying is true, Paul, but I …” He stopped himself. He remembered the many dry experiences of praying and seeking God. Do I really want to step into this subject?

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Thoughts:

The character in this book is like many Christians, he doesn’t realize that the heart of God is aimed right at him. Even if it seems like his prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, they aren’t. The Father God delights in our prayers; He is calling us to fellowship with Him. Yet, we tend to shy away from bringing our requests to Him. We shy away from fellowshipping with Him each day, or even once a week.

I have the ear and the attention of the God of the universe listening and looking towards me. What a reason I have to run to Him and open up my heart to Him. I’m not going to wait until I fall into the next foxhole and cry out in desperation. I am going to make time today, and tomorrow, and the next day because the eyes of the Lord are upon me, and His ear is open to my prayers. Wow! Make that a double ‘Wow.’

It doesn’t matter how you gauge your prayer life—strong, weak, frequent, or non-existent. The two scriptures at the beginning of this post are like steroid shots to your faith. Grind these verses into your mind and repeat them to yourself when sit down to pray. Remind yourself of the promise of God, and of His love towards and for you. Sooner or later the promise of God will click in you and joy will conqueror your facial muscles and form a smile.

What are your thoughts on these scriptures and post?