“This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”—Psalm 34:6.
“Never imagine that a praying heart ever pleads to a deaf God; or that God is so far removed from men that he takes no note of their desires… God does hear prayer…The Lord will hear your prayer, my hearer, even if you cannot put it into words; he has an ear for thoughts, and sighs, and longings. A wordless prayer is not silent to him. God reads the intents of the heart, and cares more for these than for the syllables of the lips. This poor man could not speak: his heart was so full that he could only cry; but Jehovah heard him.”- CH Spurgeon
“THIS POOR MAN CRIED”…The poor man did not come with his “credentials” or self-importance, but in humility realizing his own impotency, he cried out in desperation – a cry of pain, a cry of desperation, a cry of realization, his answer was…“the LORD.”
“THIS POOR MAN CRIED…TO THE LORD”…he cried out in distress to the LORD. The word is used to speak of Him in various passages to reveal something of His nature as, THE SELF EXISTANT, COVENANT-KEEPING, PROVIDER, UNCHANGING, SOVERIGN LORD, Who is GOD!
“HE HEARD HIM…” Worshiped by untold myriads upon myriads in Heaven, un-polluted voices sing forth their praises and devotion and yet God…stoops to listen in on the cry of desperation, the cry of heartfelt distress of this poor man. He had the ear of the God of Heaven. God answered him and delivered the one who cried in his distress, to Him, from “all,” not some of, or most of, or a few of, BUT “ALL” OF HIS FEARS, v4, out of “ALL” HIS TROUBLES v6 & 17.
How wonderful it is to have a God who loves you, is interested, and cares for you, with not only the capacity, but also, the willingness as He chooses to answer your prayers. If you find yourself in a place of desperation, and distress, feeling you have nothing left to give, a cry… even if it is at times a sigh of the heart, unheard, unknown to others, wordless, you can be assured He hears you, and can interpret your deepest needs. He will answer you, for it is His nature to deliver, and He takes delight in delivering the poor man, who cries in the midst of all his fears and out of all his troubles!
What did the poor man do? He cried to the LORD. He trained his attention upon the LORD and to Him he cried.
· The Publican cried to Him, “Be merciful to me a sinner”.
· “Blind Bartimaeus cried “Son of David have mercy on me…”
· Peter when sinking cried to Him, “Help Lord”.
· The thief on the cross cried to Him, “Remember me…”
These all cried out of distress, conscious of their need, and to Him who alone could meet it, and cared enough about them to do so. And in this Psalm. David crying from a broken heart, is heard by Heaven’s God, and heard compassionately.
What Can Often Hinder Our Prayers?
We do not see ourselves as we truly are…”poor,”spiritualy apart from God. We see ourselves as though looking at a mirror that distorts, and we see ourselves as “self-sufficient,” capable to handle our own troubles. We see ourselves as “gladiators” arrogant, but what we present before God does NOT impress Him. The self-sufficient never cry out to the LORD. He gives grace to the humble, and is opposed to the proud! The cry of the poor man was a cry of humility, a cry of recognition of his own inability, but also a cry of confidence, directed to Him who is sufficient – It was a Cry of faith to the LORD!
The cry of the poor man was not ignored and neither is yours! Heaven’s God hears, and WILL act!
Keep praying, keep crying, and rest in the fact The LORD hears YOU, and He acts on behalf of the poor man who cries out to Him.
Be encouraged to …pray on!