Daily Devotion – April 1, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
116:1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
116:2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
116:12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me?
116:13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,
116:14 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.
116:16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.
116:17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD.
116:18 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
116:19 in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

The Lord is a Listening Lord.

This is the bottom line of this psalm.

What does it mean to have a God who listens to us, who listens for us? It means that when we call upon the Lord or ask the Lord something or lift praises to the Lord, God hears us. Every time. Every time.

If this is the case, I wonder why I am not calling on the Lord every morning and every night and lots of times during the day.  Isn’t it wonderful to be listened to? Don’t you love it when someone listens to you well enough to demonstrate understanding? I do. And God is listening to us, hoping to hear from us in just that way.

Let’s join the psalmist in the final verses of this psalm: Offer thanksgiving! Pay vows! Praise the Lord, in our own tiny ways, even. God is listening for us. Let us not disappoint the Lord.

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for listening to us, listening for us. Thank you for caring so much that you hear us.    Help us to be bold and speak to you often.   Amen.