6. God’s Gracious Ear Psalm 66:16-20

Text: “Blessed (blessed with many blessings) be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."

Psalm 66:20.

God morning, ever-heard Christian!  Because of Christ’s suffering, dying, and rising again from the dead – you and I who are Spiritually regenerated, ‘born again’, of the Spirit of God, are assured that our prayers shall always be both heard and answered by a Heavenly Father Who loved us enough to give us His only begotten Son, as an Eternally appeasing Sacrifice for our sins upon Calvary’s Cross.  What a gracious Lord God we have!  Glory to His Name!

“For God so loved the world (all His elect souls from all parts of the world), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth (trusts, and continues to trust) in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world (all that the Father gave to His Son out of the world) through Him might be saved.”  (John 3: 16-17)

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.  For I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.”  (John 6:37-38)

God, our Father in Heaven has, in His Word, openly encouraged us to come unto Him in prayerful worship – at all times through Christ Jesus alone – to petition Him for our needs, and for the needs of other souls He brings to our attention daily.  We who are Christ’s servants have this all-time open invitation to come to the Lord God in reverent prayer.

“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty thing, which thou knowest not.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone (the saved) that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”  (Matthew 7:7-8)

This is the Word of the Lord God Himself on the subject of our prayers!  Take heed!

“God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent (say, and not do): hath He said, and shall He not do it?  Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?”  (Numbers 23:19)

God’s throne of ever-given grace and blessings is forever open to those who trust in Christ.

Verse 16.  “Come and hear.  Before, they were bidden to come and see.  Hearing is faith’s seeing.  Mercy comes to us by way of ear-gate. “Hear, and your soul shall live.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 286)

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  (Romans 10:17)

Verse 16.  “…All ye that fear God.  God-fearing does not mean that we cow before an angry Lord God in abject fear. No!  To be God-fearing, denotes an attitude of the most profound depths of a sinner’s heart (essence of being) humbled in awe and worshipful reverence before God’s Holy Presence, hidden in Christ Jesus.  We appear before God’s throne of grace robed in the righteousness of Christ Himself!  His precious, and sinless, Blood, shed for us on that cruel Roman Cross – has atoned for all of our sins, and therefore we have liberty to enter into the very Presence of God continually.  We are ever-heard Christians.  Glory to the Lamb Who has made the way into Heaven’s portals for us!

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  (Hebrews 4:16)

Isaiah the prophet speaks of the righteous covering true believers have in the sinless Blood of Christ Jesus, the Atonement Lamb.

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garment of Salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”  (Isaiah 61:10)

When we who are Spiritually regenerate come into our Father’s absolutely Holy Presence, we come rejoicing – because God the Father only sees God the Son, Christ Jesus, when He looks at the redeemed through the shed and sinless Blood of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

The Lord promised Moses that all people that were living under the blood of the slain lamb, would be completely safe from His destruction, and no plague would harm them.

“And the Blood (of the slain lamb) shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the Blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Egypt is always seen as a type of the unsaved world).” (Exodus 12:13)

We who are redeemed by the precious Blood of Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of ‘His people’, are promised God’s Divine protection at all times, according to His own Sovereign, and ever perfect will.  Glory to His Omnipotent Name! 

Being ever-heard, and forever safe in God’s keeping power – should we not be very quick to declare God’s Salvation grace and power unto other unsaved souls?

Verse 16. “And I will declare what He hath done for my soul.  If ‘…faith cometh by hearing…’, and it does – why are there so many seeking to be ‘secret Christians’ in this increasingly apostate 21^st Century?  Silence isn’t always golden, in Christian service, it can also be just plain YELLOW!  Let us get out there and declare what the Lord Jesus has done for our souls!

Verse 17. “I cried unto Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue.  Observe that the Psalmist did both cry and speak; the Lord has cast the dumb devil out of His children, and those of them who are least fluent with their tongues are often the most eloquent with their hearts.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 286)

Take note: Ever-heard Christians should also be ever-thanksgiving Christians!

Verse 17: “…He was extolled with my tongue.  The ten lepers all cried for mercy, and all obtained it, but only one returned to render thanks.”  (John Morison1829)

Verse 20: “Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me.  We cannot come into God’s Presence with unconfessed sin to pray. (V.18) Once sin is confessed and forsaken – the Lord never turns away our prayers, we are ever-heard.  Thanks be to the Living Lord God Jehovah, who is listening for our prayerful praise.

Thought:  God-given faith in Christ, assures us of God’s ever-hearing ear in prayer.