+DEV+ Always Listening

Date: April 27, 2011 12:16 AM
Topic: +DEV+ Always Listening

Always Listening

"...do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ...your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:7-8).
Scripture Focus: Matthew 6:5-8

We know God as our Father. The pagans, on the other hand, pray to someone they don't know. They don't know if he's paying attention to them, so they try to get their needs met by saying a lot of words, hoping some of them will get through.

It reminds me of how our son Peter would relate to his dad when he was little. If Charles were preoccupied, reading the newspaper, Peter would jabber away, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." But when Charles put down the paper and looked at him and said, "Okay, I'm listening, Pete," his tone would change. He knew he had his dad's attention. "Mommy said I could ask you if I could have a cookie." When he got his "yes," he would skip off happily to the kitchen and collect.

Jesus is telling us we have the full attention of our Father. We don't have to jabber. He's attentive to all our needs. He knows the hairs on our head, and He knows what we need before we ask Him. The Creator God is our Abba.

Insight: "Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice" (Psalm 55:27).