God Hears and Yields

I have been blown away of late by this simple fact:  God listens to people.  The prayer of one person has changed the course of nations.  We may think because God is sovereign over all and already knows His complete, ultimate plan, everything is fairly set.  Though God does have a plan, many times we observe in scripture God in heaven listens and heeds the prayers of people who simply pray.  This really is an amazing thing, that lowly man can have an audience with God - and God listens to us when we speak to Him!

Think about the powerful and influential men and women in the world today.  No man easily gains a personal audience with them.  You might write a letter to a politician, but it may never even reach their desk.  They have layer upon layer of attendants and handlers to deal with the requests, calls, e-mails, and ideas of people.  Even if you were able have a phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting with a prime-minister or president of a company, it is utterly unlikely your suggestions would impact the plans which have already been set in motion!  The fact is, to offer suggestions to the Prime Minister on policies from the position of a "man on the street" cannot take into account all the politicking taking place behind closed doors.  We see only a fraction of the big picture.  Since this is the case, what wisdom or insights could a Prime Minister hope to gain from a United States transplant like me, who has only been in country for four years?  From his perspective, I can't see any upside for him agreeing to such a meeting!

If the divide between men can be great, how much more of a infinite chasm stretches between the Creator God and shortsighted man!  Yet God has granted all who trust in Him an audience in His throne room of grace to find mercy and help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).  He does not squeeze us into a 10 minute time slot because He is too busy or important to spare more time.  And wonder of wonders, we can directly impact His decisions.  Does this blow your mind?  Many times in scripture we see God make a statement, only to willingly adjust it according to a direct request from one of His servants.  God does not only hear prayers, but He answers them.  There are many recorded instances in scripture when God was willing to alter His "plan" because of supplications from His children.  It's true that sometimes says "No," but that does not change the fact He also says "Yes" to requests!  Here are several examples:

• God revealed to Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and the surrounding cities due to their great wickedness.  The text says Abraham "drew near" and asked if God, being a righteous Judge, would destroy the righteous with the wicked.  Genesis 18:23-33 contains the dialogue of the interaction, and Abraham reasoned with the LORD.  Instead of a wholesale destruction, Abraham received God's promise Sodom would be spared completely if there were only 10 righteous people within the city.  God heeded the voice of Abraham.
• When the children of Israel worshiped the golden calf Aaron made during the absence of Moses as he met with God to receive the Law on Mt. Sinai, God told Moses He was going to destroy all the people of Israel and make of Moses a great nation instead.  Moses protested and pleaded with God on behalf of the people, and God listened.  Exodus 32:13-14 reads:  "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'" ¹⁴ So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people."
• Elijah was a man like the rest of us, but God shut the heavens at his earnest request.  It says in James 5:17-18:  "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit."  When Elijah prayed for rain again, God heard and caused torrential rain to fall the same day.
• Nineveh was a city God sent Jonah the prophet to warn of impending destruction:  "Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"  When the people heard of their imminent overthrow, from the least to the greatest they mourned, fasted, and wore sackcloth and ashes.  Though they were Gentiles, they believed God.  God responded and repented from the evil He was planned to bring upon them (Jonah 3:5-10).

God responds to more than mere words:  He is looking for faith demonstrated by works.  God invites whosoever will to repent of sin and come and reason with Him.  Would you refuse the opportunity to converse with your Maker?  Isaiah 1:16-20 says, "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, ¹⁷ learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. ¹⁸ "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; ²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  God has spoken, and His Word shall come to pass.  However, this does not mean He will not heed the voice of those who cry out to Him in faith.  David the shepherd wrote in Psalm 34:6, "This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."

We need not be rich or influential in this world to have an audience with God.  God has invited us to reason with Him, and it is not a token "meet and greet" with a handshake and signed photo:  by God's grace we have the freedom to converse with God, to praise and thank Him, and make our requests known to God.  Who knows?  In the meekness of His wisdom, God is willing to yield at the voice of a man.  This mind-blowing fact rejoices the heart!