"Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live."
Psalm 116:2 (NIV)
Answered prayer can quietly shrink a person's prayer life. During the crisis, you prayed in the morning and in the middle of the night. You asked others to pray with you. Then the answer came. The prayers got shorter. You said a quick thank-you, and life got busy again.
Underneath that drift is a common belief: prayer is for when I am in trouble. Part of that is right. Crying out in trouble is exactly what the psalmist did when he prayed, "LORD, save me!" But the belief quietly adds something. Once the trouble is over, I can go back to managing on my own. That self-reliance is sin. It treats the God who saved you as someone you need only in emergencies. The psalmist decides the opposite. Because the Lord turned His ear to him, he will call on God for the rest of his life.
The psalmist uses the same words in his crisis and after his rescue. In verse 4, with the cords of death around him, he called on the name of the Lord. In verse 13, with the cup of salvation lifted, he calls on the name of the Lord. In verse 17, offering his thanks, he says it again. In Hebrew, the phrase is the same each time. His thanksgiving did not stop his calling. It kept him calling. The best thank-you for an answered prayer is the next prayer.
A child who stops asking does not honor a good father. Imagine a father who helps his son through something hard. The son says, "Thank you, Dad. To show how grateful I am, I will never ask you for anything again." That would not honor the father. It would grieve him. A good father wants his child to keep coming. In the same way, God is honored when His people keep bringing their needs to Him. We ask freely, and we trust Him to answer according to His wisdom and His will.
The God who hears did not leave even His own Son in the grave. In Matthew 26:30, on the night before His death, Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn after the Passover meal. Matthew does not say which hymn. But Jewish tradition sang Psalms 113 to 118 at Passover, so it was probably drawn from that group. If so, Jesus may have sung the words of Psalm 116 before walking out toward the cross. He went all the way into death, and God raised Him to life. Because of that, death will not have the last word for those who belong to Christ. The One you call on has power even over the grave.
Godseekers, the Lord who heard you is worth calling on for the rest of your life. When you are full of wonder, call on Him. When you are hurting, call on Him. When you have sinned, call on Him. And when He has answered, call on Him again. Calling on Him in every season is the posture of a thankful heart. He turned His ear to you. Keep calling on Him, as long as you live.
Prayer
Abba Father, I confess that I have often prayed only when I was in trouble. When things were good, I trusted myself instead of You. Thank You for turning Your ear to me, and for raising Jesus from the dead. Teach me to keep calling on Your name in good days and hard days alike. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- Look at your prayers when life is going well. What do they reveal about who you believe you need?
- What would change in your prayers if you believed God wants to hear from you as much on good days as on hard ones?
Step of Faith
Bring God one ordinary request today, even though nothing is wrong. Ask Him for help with something small, and thank Him that you can keep coming to Him.
