Our Sovereign Lord, the One who Hears our Prayers

O You who hear prayer,
To You all men come. (Psalm 65:2)

What an incomprehensible thought. The Lord hears our prayers. I'm constantly amazed at the nature of answered prayer. Needless to say, it is often not what I expect. Sometimes, I am convinced that this certain thing would be the best course of action; This is how God will get the most glory. If this happens, then I can say that God has answered my prayer.

How little faith I have. As if only crisis averted safeguards God's "sovereign" reputation. I fail to see that oftentimes God answers prayer in the persevering and in the recovery. When the fateful news comes, the Christian trusts in his prayer-hearing God. When the operation begins, the Christian clings to the one who has heard his plea for mercy. When the believer makes his way through recovery, he leans upon his Lord, the one who listens to his supplications. Whether he lives or dies; whether he relapses or recovers; whether he is bed-ridden for weeks or walks the halls the day after his major surgery, the Christian unconditionally trusts that God has heard his prayer.

Indeed, God is sovereign in the diagnosis, operation, and recovery. No MRI or cat-scan has ever caught him by surprise. He is sovereign in the worst case scenario. In the midst of tearful sorrow, and among the shouts of thankful praise, the character of God remains steadfast.

Rest assured, the Lord hears the prayers of his children. This is an unchanging aspect of his character: He is the one who has, does, and will always hear our prayers.
We don't always know how he will answer them,
but we know he always will.

I love the Lord because he Hears my voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His eat to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
(Psalm 116:1-2)