GOD LISTENS
El Señor Eschucha
by Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Saturday, January 31, 2015
Children mimic the speech patterns of their parents and of other adults around them. [Photographer: Peter Alexander Robb. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
"Oh, God! What are we going to do next?"
I looked up from where I sat reading while the two five-year-old children played. The exclamation had come from a neighbor's child who was in the same class at school with our son. She hadn't fallen, she wasn't hurt, nor was she having any trouble. It was merely a casual remark similar to others she had made earlier.
Since she was only five years old, she clearly did not realize that she was violating the third of the Ten Commandments. That's the commandment that tells us not to take the name of the Lord in vain. It means we are not to use God's name lightly without showing respect or without intending to call on Him.
As the child continued to misuse God's name in that manner that day, I told her, "If you keep calling on God when you don't need Him, He won't listen to you when you really do need Him."
She looked at me as though I was crazy, and I felt certain she did not understand what I meant. It was clear she had no idea who God was. The phrase was obviously something she had heard adults say. Children learn to talk by mimicking the speech habits of their parents and of other adults around them.
Sadly, that speech pattern is still widespread among adults and teenagers. The current trend of exclaiming, "Oh, my God!" is so common that it is sometimes abbreviated as, "OMG!" in advertisements and in other written forms. The informal and frequent use of that phrase indicates that those that say it do not have a relationship with the Almighty and that He is far from being their God. If they did worship God as their Creator, they would not treat His name so casually.
That is sad because Psalm 145:18 tells us that, "The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth" (King James Version). Those that misuse His name are not calling on Him in truth. Instead, they are calling upon Him in error. Nevertheless, He still hears them.
God spoke through the prophet, Jeremiah when He said, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." (Jeremiah 33:3, King James Version) It is the tone with which people call to God that determines the nature of His response.
When we speak to God in appreciation for all He has done for us and with respect, we develop a relationship of mutual love with Him because He is definitely listening.
BIBLE VERSES FOR THIS POSTING
Psalm 145:18 - "The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." (King James Version)
Salmos 145:18 - "Cercano está Jehová a todos los que le invocan, A todos los que le invocan de veras." (Reina-Valera 1960)
Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." (King James Version)
Jeremías 33:3 - "Clama a mí, y yo te responderé, y te enseñaré cosas grandes y ocultas que tú no conoces." (Reina-Valera 1960)
God is listening. [Image courtesy of BigFoto.com.]
