Our Great Comforter

Psalm 10 starts with a description of the wicked man who “hunts down the weak,” “blesses the greedy,” and “does not seek (God).”

That sounds like a pleasant person to be around... The psalmist then asks God for justice, that the wicked might be punished and the righteous might be saved. Psalm 10 closes with these verses:

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;

   the nations will perish from his land.

17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;

   you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

   so that mere earthly mortals

   will never again strike terror.

I love verse 17: “You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry…” The writer of this Psalm is clearly in despair by the brokenness of our world. But in these final lines, there is confidence found in the fact that God hears us, encourages us, and defends us.

I was teaching at our high school ministry on prayer last week, and as I was sermon-prepping, I became frustrated by how desperately I wanted these young believers to realize that God is actually listening. I remember being a teenager and trying to engage in prayer life - I loved all aspects of faith as a passionate 16-year-old believer. I loved two hour long worship nights where I'd sob to my favorite songs. I loved sitting in Bible studies and learning about God’s word. And I loved community building in my youth group - although I think most of that related to my many youth group crushes… unfortunately :). But prayer was hard to wrap my young mind around. It just felt like I was talking to myself! It was so hard to convince my heart that He was really listening.

Over the years, as God has been faithful in my pursuit of Him, I’ve become so confident that He is intimately leaning in when I open my heart to him. And friend, I want you to have that confidence today.

Just like the yearnings expressed in Psalm 10, when we come to God with our pain, when we open our hearts and share about our struggles, He is there, He is listening, and He is ready to encourage us.

Famous theologian and preacher Charles Spurgeon writes:

Sometimes, we have desires that we cannot express; they are too big, too deep; we cannot clothe them in language. At other times, we have desires which we dare not express; we feel too bowed down, we see too much of our own undesert to be able to venture near the throne of God to utter our desires; but the Lord hears the desire when we cannot or dare not turn it into the actual form of a prayer.

Even when we don’t have the words. Even when we’re too ashamed, too grieved, too desperate - God hears us. He hears our souls. He prays with us. He cries with us. And He’s ready to hold us and pick up the pieces.

Do you know that he’s listening to you today? You might not have words, but sit with him. Let Him show up for you.

And trust this truth: He is listening.

Cristina Schmitter

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