Devotions: Ready to Answer

It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

We don’t see the spiritual realm, we aren’t usually aware of what is going on there. We can’t see our prayers reach God, nor can we often see God answer them. God knows what we need. He also knows what we will do and say. He is there listening to us, waiting for us to call on Him. If God gave us everything we wanted, or even just what we needed, before we asked Him we would not trust Him. We would forget to depend on Him. Everything God does is for our benefit, including waiting to help us until we ask so that we will see our need for Him. This verse is not here to say that we no longer need to ask God for help, but to reassure us that He is there and knows what we need. This was written during a time when God did not talk to His people because of their overt and continued sin. They had continually rebelled and rejected God so He ceased to listen or rescue them. It was their sin which placed a barrier between them. But He promised that there would come a time when He would again be with them, a time when they would repent and be restored into a right relationship with Him. This can happen with us, not that God doesn’t hear, but our unrepented sin can put a barrier between us and God, preventing us from hearing Him speak. We need to make sure that we keep those barriers broken down, and we need to trust that God is there and listening even in the midst of our sin, waiting for us to repent and return to Him. Do you feel far from God? What is preventing you from hearing Him? Ask Him to reveal the barrier, deal with it, and trust in His promised closeness to you.