The Hearer of Prayer (Jehovah) Deserves To Be Praised (Modified Talk)

Praise Jehovah, The Hearer of Prayer

We have many good reasons to praise Jehovah, the hearer of prayer (Psalm 65:2). Through prayer, we gain the needed power to serve Jehovah faithfully, and prayer helps us to develop a close relationship with God as we see divine promises fulfilled in our personal life and organizationally. Tonight, we’ll examine three comforting aspects regarding Jehovah, the hearer of prayer.

1) The inspired psalmist David shows there is an important connection between prayer and our personal relationship with Jehovah in Psalm 61:1, 8:

Hear, O God, my cry for help. Do pay attention to my prayer. (verse 1)

Then I will sing praises to your name forever, As I pay my vows day after day. (Verse 8)

There may be times when we make certain promises to Jehovah while praying. We may promise him that we’ll exert ourselves to overcome some weakness or we may vow to develop a Christian quality. We also might vow to increase some aspect of our theocratic service. How can we demonstrate seriousness regarding these vows? We can make them a regular matter of prayer, maybe even praying about these vows on a daily basis. Praying incessantly about promises that we have made to Jehovah will likewise help us to keep our vows.

2) Prayer to Jehovah gives us an opportunity to show that we trust him.

Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your hearts before him. God is a refuge for us. (Selah)-Psalm 62:8

All of God’s people know that we should manifest unwavering trust in him at all times. Should we not also pour out our hearts to him in prayer? However, there may be times when it becomes difficult to pray and leave matters in God’s hands. Why might that be the case? One reason is that Jehovah doesn’t always reply to our prayers overnight. It may take time for him to respond, and that will require trust on our part. The 4/15/2015 WT uses the example of a child to illustrate why we need to exercise patience when we pray to Jehovah:

“A child cannot rightly expect a parent to grant every request or to do so right away. Some of a child’s requests may be mere passing whims. Others must wait till the time is right.”

Some requests may not be in a child’s best interests. That may also be the case when we approach Jehovah in prayer. Yet the scriptures promise that Jehovah knows our limitations; he remembers that we are dust. God promises that along with trials, he will make a way out. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

3) We can be confident that Jehovah hears the prayers of all right-hearted ones.

Psalm 65:1-2: Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; We will pay our vows to you.

O Hearer of prayer, to you people of all sorts will come.

Before Jesus became human, he witnessed Jehovah being the Hearer of prayer. Later, when carrying out his earthly ministry, Jesus prayed all night to his heavenly Father (Luke 6:12). Prayer was not just a psychological crutch for Jesus, but he truly believed that God listened to his prayers. Jehovah was real to Jesus, and if we follow his example, Jehovah will be real for us too.

Psalm 65:2 says that all sorts of people will come to the hearer of prayer. Therefore, we also learn that Jehovah is not partial (Acts 10:34-35). Even in the days of King Solomon, foreigners could prayerfully approach Israel’s God at the temple in Jerusalem, and offer sacrifice (1 Kings 8:41-42). Jehovah listens to the prayers of all those who fear him and work righteousness. The important factor is our heart condition, and what our hearts motivate us to do.

Prayer Moved Jehovah to Intervene-The Case of Hezekiah (Modified Talk)

Prayer Moved Jehovah to Intervene

I want to start out by giving you a brief quiz.

Is the following statement True or False?

"The prayers of righteous people are completely ineffectual."

The Bible Answer Is found at James 5:16 where it assures us that "A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect." 

Hence, supplications or intense prayers can have a powerful effect when they're uttered by righteous people. King Hezekiah of Judah was one such righteous person. Did his prayers have a powerful effect?

2 Kings 20:1-We can just imagine the scene. The Assyrians brought major force against Jerusalem while Hezekiah was sick to the point of death, and Isaiah told the king that he would not recover from his illness: he would certainly die. To make matters worse, Hezekiah had no heir to succeed him. Therefore, he wondered who would fight for Jerusalem after his demise? What would Hezekiah do in this situation?

2 Kings 20:2-3-what kind of prayer did Hezekiah offer? He offered supplications because the account says he begged Jehovah to remember his faithful course and how he had walked with a complete heart before God. Hezekiah's prayer was intense, even accompanied by profuse tears. 

What was the result of this earnest entreaty to Jehovah?

2 Kings 20:4-6 answers.

Would you say that Hezekiah's prayer had a powerful effect? Yes, it caused Jehovah to intervene and extend the life of Hezekiah by fifteen years. Is there a lesson for us today?

We learn that our supplications to Jehovah are never in vain. It is possible that Jehovah might be moved by our supplications to act and do something he otherwise might not have done; our supplications might cause Jehovah to intervene as he did in Hezekiah's case. However, we don't necessarily expect miraculous healings today or longer lives because we offer supplications. Nevertheless, we can be confident that Jehovah will give us what we need to endure hardship and distress if we earnestly implore him (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jehovah invites us to pour out our hearts to him (Psalm 62:8). So, regardless of the outcome, it is good to know that the prayers of righteous persons are effectual and powerful.