May the Lord hear your cry today, says Fr Alvan

In the second part of his latest Voice of Hope article, Fr Alvan Ibeh asks “Does God hear me when I cry?”

Many people today have given up on God because of the feeling that God does not hear the cries and groans of His people. This may be because of one experience or the other, which they must have passed through in life, in which they prayed and prayed and asked for God’s intervention. But after praying and asking God for this very thing they felt was so important to them and didn’t happen just the way they wanted, they concluded that God is deaf and insensitive to the cries of His people, and that is them done with God.

Let me not just be using “them” as if I am an exception. I have also been in such a situation when I gave up on God because I felt He didn’t answer me right at the time I cried to him.

But one big question we need to ask here is, “Does God hear the cry of His people? Is He like one of those other man-made gods, who Psalm 135:16-18 describe as “the idols of the nations which are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.” Do you feel God is like that?

Well, let us look at some Bible passages; maybe the examples we get from there will help convince us that God has never at any point stopped listening to the cries of His people. I firmly believe that the God of the scriptures is still the God of today who never changes, for He says in Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord, I changeth not”. If the God of the scriptures heard the voice of His people when they cried out, and if He is still the same God we call on today, then that means He still hears our cries even till this moment as you are reading this. Let us now look at these few passages from the scripture:

“The Lord hears those who cry out, and he delivers them from all their distress” (Psalm 34:17)

It came about in those days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of their bondage rose to God” (Exodus 2:23)

As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became terrified; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord” (Exodus 14:10). We all know what the fate of the Egyptians became when the Lord of host, the mighty man in battle, arose against them in answer to the cries of His people, the Israelites. We see the testimony in the book of Deuteronomy 4:7, “For what nation is so great as to have a god as near to them as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call on Him?” They testified that God always heard them whenever they cried out to Him.

Even when we cry to God, we must do that with trust that He will hear us and wipe away our tears. Crying with faith means investing our tears, while crying without faith will be wasting our tears.

The Bible is also filled with examples of times when God answered the cries of His people. Below are a few examples of occasions on which individuals cried out to God, and God heard their cries and delivered them:

Elijah cried out, and God revived a dead child (I Kings 17:20–22).

Jehoshaphat cried out, and God delivered him from death (II Chronicles 18:31).

Hezekiah cried out, and God gave him victory (II Chronicles 32:20–21).

Hannah cried out, and God answered her and gave her Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1-20).

Jabez cried out, and God granted his request and changed his fortune (1 Chronicles 4:10).

The scripture says in the book of Isaiah 30:19, “He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you” (Is 30:19). This promise to the suffering Israelites reminds us of God’s steadfast response to His people’s cries for assistance. We might also cry out to God in our circumstances, pleading with Him to be near, lead, and instruct us (Is 30:20–21). May the Lord hear your cry today and wipe away every tear from your eyes to the glory of His name. Amen.

Click here to read the first part of this article.

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