He Hears

"You number my wanderings,

Put my tears into Your bottle;

Are they not in Your book?"

Psalm 56:8

I read this verse this morning in my Bible reading, and it was SO reassuring.  I know that His eye is always on me.  I love that I can confirm that any time I read His word.  His word is what I'm standing on right now.  It's my foundation, and it always is.  God's word is what is helping me to stay sane! I like that all of the verses I have written down on index cards or the chalk board or pieces of paper come back to me in the most critical moments in my life.  I am trying so hard to hide His word in my heart.

I really like Ruth Bell Graham.  Now, I didn't always agree with her philosophies or her belief system, but she was a very wise woman.  She was a brilliant writer, and I have most of her published books.  I've read them many, many times over the years and gained so much insight and most of all, comfort for my heart.  

I have a little booklet written by her called "Letters From Ruth's Attic".  Ruth Bell Graham was a notorious pack rat.  Her attic was jam-packed with papers and old books and journals that she just couldn't bear to throw away.  Her attic was like another world lost in a precious time warp! I wish I could have known her and gotten to see her attic!

This morning I was taking in the reading for today (Day 6) and it was really what I needed to hear, and a concrete confirmation of a word I gave last night at a meeting of a women's group of which I'm part.  I share it this morning with you because this idea, this principal, always needs to be reaffirmed to us.  We always need to hear things more than once for them to really get planted in our hearts, don't we? At least, I do!

I share it with you in hopes that you will remember one of the most fundamental and foundational promises He gave us!

Ruth says:

"The cat had kittens on the daybed in the downstairs guest room.  We didn't think that was such a good idea, so we collected them and placed them on rags in a box in front of the kitchen fireplace until we could come up with something more suitable.  

But the mother cat had a mind of her own! We watched with amusement as she entered the kitchen silently, stood on her hind legs, front legs on the box, sniffing for her babies. Then, leaping nimbly over the side, she checked them over, picked one up by the nape of the neck, leaped out, and quietly returned her baby to the daybed.  This was repeated until all that was left was the runt of the litter.

She did not come back. She may have been exhausted from her efforts, or she may have been busy playing lunch counter to the others.  We waited.

Finally, the tiny scrap at the bottom of the box let out more of a squeak than a mew.  It was almost a non-sound.

Instantly, soundlessly, the mama cat appeared, bounded into the box, grabbed that baby and carried it back to the guest room. Three doors, two rooms and two hallways away, and yet she heard. It wasn't even a full-fledged cry!

Nor are our prayers necessarily full-fledged prayers~or even articulated cries for help.  According to the Bible, God responds to our sighs, our tears and our murmurs.  Even our longings can be interpreted as prayer.  John Trapp said in his commentary on Psalm 145, 'The Lord is near to all that call upon Him, yea, He can feel breath when no voice can be heard for faintness.'"

Aren't you glad? Does that comfort your heart as it does mine?? Know that the Lord hears you whisper.  He hears the groaning of your spirit.  His ear is attuned to your cry.  That is such reassuring knowledge!

"The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.  He fulfills the desires of those who fear him. He hears their cry and saves them."