Lord, Can You Hear Me?

Lord, if You can hear me… was the preface to all my prayers. As a child, I had been taught that God hears every prayer. Still, I was never really sure if He heard me. Sometimes it appeared that God might have answered one of my prayers, but I still wasn’t convinced that He heard me and I always chalked His answers up to coincidence.
Then one day, I was reading in Scripture the story of Lazarus. Just as he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus raised His eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that You always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they might believe that You sent me.” (John 11:41-42)
Wow! What confidence and intimacy Jesus displays in His prayer with the Father. It dawned on me that I was one of the people in the crowd Jesus was praying about to His Father… that I might believe.
From that point on, I decided to stop saying “if You can hear me” as the preface to my prayers. Instead, I came with the words of Jesus,
“Father, I come in Jesus’ name. Thank You for hearing me, for I know that you always hear me.”
The first time I tried it, my voice was barely a whisper. I knew in my heart that I really didn’t believe what I was saying and I was sure that if God could hear me, He knew it also. But, I kept on saying it every time I prayed.
One day, I was facing a difficult situation. I knew that no one but God could work it out, so I prayed,
“Father, I come in Jesus’ name. Thank you for hearing me, for I know that You always hear me.”
Then I told Him all the details of what was going on and what needed to be done as if He didn’t already know. I didn’t tell another soul about my need.
When this situation worked out in such a marvelous, wonderful, perfect way, I knew that the Father had heard me. I lifted my arms high in praise and I shouted,
“FATHER, THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME! I KNOW THAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME. AND I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME!”
Since that time, I have never doubted that God hears every prayer and is concerned about every detail of our lives. My prayer life entered a new dimension. I felt a new freedom and a confidence and boldness when I prayed. There was closeness with the Father that I had never known before.
“So let us confidently approach the Throne of Grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help.” (Hebrews 4:16)