When You Feel God Doesn't Hear, Examine the Ear

There is no greater pain than when we hurt, plead with God for relief, and find heaven remaining quiet. Though it is difficult to comprehend the soul searing ache that comes from watching a loved one die from disease, that ache is far greater when we beg God for mercy during the dying process and find Him seemingly silent. Let's be honest. As Christians, there is no more bitter experience than facing a monumental trial that seems destined to do us in, and when we ask God for relief, He seems deaf to our cries. As adopted children of the King, nothing is scarier or more disconcerting than to believe the Throne Room is locked, keeping Him from hearing us in our time of need.  All of us have been there. There are those days when God seems not to hear.

When that feeling arrives next time, examine the ear. Take a gander at it. Do a little research and discover the delicate intricacies of this amazing human instrument. It takes more faith to believe your ear evolved from amoebas than it does God created it in your mother's womb. God fashioned the human ear, and through it you hear the world around you. The ear is so precise, so beautiful, so profound, so breathtaking that Charles Spurgeon once said (Metropolitan Series, vol. 35, p. 66):

"An aurist who explained to you the mechanism of the ear should make you feel that an undevout aurist is mad."

I agree with Mr. Spurgeon. No man can examine the ear and explain its intricacies and not be a devout believer in God. But more importantly, every Christian who has a working knowledge of the ear should receive tremendous encouragement that God hears our pleas and our prayers on all occasions and at all times. Listen to the Psalmist's words: 

"He who planted the ear, does He not hear?" (Psalm 94:9 NAS).

Great question, is it not? In fact, you can almost hear the irony in the words of the Psalmist. The word translated "planted" is a Hebrew word used throughout the Old Testament to speak of God's activity in creation. He created your ear. He planted it. He that designed and created your ear, do you not think He can hear?

In Psalm 94 God's people have been crying out in agony because "the wicked were triumphing" (v. 3). Those who were committing evil were saying "hard things" against God's people (v. 4). They "break in pieces the people of God" (v. 5), and they even afflict the poor, defenseless and fatherless (v. 6). "How long?" God's people cry, "How long?" The Psalmist response to the petitions of God's people is a clear cut path to encouragement and comfort for those of us who wonder if God hears us when we plead for mercy in our time of need.

God planted (created) your ear. He, above all others, always hears everything. He will respond to my pleas. In due time, God will "rise up for me" (v. 16). The Lord "will be my help" (v. 17). "Thy mercy, O Lord, holds me up when I slip" (v. 18). "The Lord is my defense" (v. 22). Take comfort my soul. My King is on His throne and He hears me.

The ancients had a subtitle to Psalm 94 that went along these lines: "The Psalm to be sung on the fourth day of the week." The fourth day of the week is what we call Wednesday, or Hump Day.

Psalm 94 is a proven encouragement for any hump day in our lives. Next time we doubt God hears our prayers, we ought to study closely the human ear. "He who  planted the ear, does He not hear?" (Psalm 94:9). In His time, in just the right time, God will rise up for you and be your defense.
He hears.