I want you to know that whenever you reach out to God, he answers. And better than that, you have his full attention. You are important to God. Just let that sink in for a minute. If Jesus tells us that he counts the hairs on our heads, then you know when we reach out, when we call on his name, he’s right there, ready to listen. Caring, empathizing with you, encouraging you. That’s our Jesus. Well, it’s Friday, which means it’s time for Joy Bombs in the Psalms, on the Bible for Busy People. And since this week, you and I have been celebrating how God hears our prayers and answers them, I chose Psalm 65. You ready to dive in? Here we go.
Show Links:
- Who Is Jesus?
- Have a prayer request? Leave it HERE.
Transcription:
You know that feeling when you really want to talk with somebody you love, there’s something pressing on your heart and you just need to hear their voice, and the call goes to voicemail? Or you text that person and you see the three dots, but then the three dots disappear? I want you to know that whenever you reach out to God, he answers. And better than that, you have his full attention. You are important to God. Just let that sink in for a minute. If Jesus tells us that he counts the hairs on our heads, then you know when we reach out, when we call on his name, he’s right there, ready to listen. Caring, empathizing with you, encouraging you. That’s our Jesus. Well, it’s Friday, which means it’s time for Joy Bombs in the Psalms, on the Bible for Busy People. And since this week, you and I have been celebrating how God hears our prayers and answers them, I chose Psalm 65. You ready to dive in with me beginning in verse one?
1 What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
2 for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
3 Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all.
4 What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.
5 You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
6 You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
7 You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
8 Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.
9 You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
10 You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!
Isn’t it beautiful? I love this Psalm because it’s talking about how God takes care of everything. And your name and my name…They’re both included in everything. It’s showing us God’s big, huge heart. He provides not just a harvest of grain, but a bountiful harvest. He can do more than you and I could ever ask or imagine, and that’s a promise from God. You can find it in Ephesians chapter three, verse 20. I hope that you feel so cared about this week. I hope you know that our God is the one who bends down to hear our prayers. He just cares that much. I’ve been sitting here with you thinking about the many times God has answered prayers in my life. I feel like so often I think about what I need, and it’s much better to think about what God has already provided. He’s already set the precedent. Like, I’m thinking about the time we almost lost my mom to Covid, and there was a respiratory therapist who came in her room and he pointed to the pictures of our family on the wall in that ICU, and he said, you see those people, you got to stay strong. You got to keep going for them. And Heath told my mom weeks later, he did not think that she was going to make it, but my mom was fighting. And it’s because hundreds and hundreds of people were praying for her, and lifting up her arms because she was too weak to lift them. There’s a story about Moses and his brother Aaron and another guy in the Bible named Hur. And the story in the Bible was that the Israelites would win the war as long as Moses held up his staff high in the air, but his arms grew tired, so Aaron and Hur came along beside him and held up his arms, and the Israelites were victorious. They won the battle. Prayer is how we win the battles. It works the same way sometimes We just need to hold up the arms of others in prayer, to come alongside them and do that. So, today I invite you to recollect all of the times that God has answered prayers in your life. All the times he’s been faithful. And perhaps there’s someone whose arms are weary today who you can lift in prayer. I’m thinking of a couple of faces in my mind’s eye right now. Prayer is powerful. Not because of the words we pray, but because of the God we’re praying to. So, let’s conclude, let’s conclude our time together this week with a word of prayer.
Father, we come to you in the mighty name of Jesus, and we stop and remember today your faithfulness. All of the times you’ve heard and answered in a way that just blows our minds and melts our hearts. We praise you for the prayers you have yet to answer, because we know you’re working on ’em. We know you’ve heard and we know you care. Oh God, you’re so good to us. We worship you unabashedly right now in the midst of the unanswered prayers. We remember your faithfulness. We consider all of the good things you have done. We lift our arms and say to you, “God, have your way in us.” Oh Lord, make us answers to prayer in other lives. Lord, use us, we pray. It’s in your mighty name. The name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
All right, thank you for your company this week. I love studying God’s Word with you. Till next time, you are loved.
Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life.
Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.
