He Hears Our Cries

In Psalm 34, there are several verses in which we find a great encouragement for us as God's people, encouragement for us to come to God in prayer, to pray to Him in times when we are fearful or when we are in trouble.
 
Psalm 34:4, “I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” I think like most people, we all experience times in which we are fearful, things that come into our lives that cause us fear. It may be things that are known, current circumstances that we are facing in our life. It could also be things that we fear because they're in the future, they are the unknown. There's the uncertainty of what might happen. And so those things may cause us to fear. At times we fear for ourself, what might happen to me. But oftentimes we also fear for others. We fear for our family members, we fear for our loved ones, we fear for God's people, the church. We may even be fearful of our nation as we see the things that are taking place and we are fearful that the way of life that we have known for so long may be destroyed. Many things can cause fear; fear that can come from physical troubles; fear that can be caused by emotional or mental troubles; fear that at times is caused by spiritual trouble.

So what do we do in times of fear? Where do we turn to for help? The psalmist tells us that the way in which we are to respond to fear, as he faced these circumstances that created fear, he responded by going to the Lord. He says, “I sought the Lord.” He went to God in prayer seeking the Lord, seeking for His help, seeking for His comfort, seeking for His deliverance. And as he goes to the Lord, the Lord answers, it says, “and He answered me.” God is open to our cries. He hears and He answers our prayers and He delivered the psalmist from all of his fears. So we see this encouragement for us, do we not, to go to the Lord in times of fear.

But also this pattern of going to the Lord in prayer is a pattern that we see in other verses in the psalm, a pattern in which the Lord not only hears, but He answers prayer from His people. Verse 6, “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles.” Here we read of a man who's described as a poor man, perhaps someone who understands their desperate need, that they are weak and helpless in and of themselves, unable to do anything to get themselves and save themselves from the troubles that they face. And so in the midst of the troubles that they face, this poor man does what? He doesn't cry to others, he doesn't cry out looking to other sources for help. No, he cries out to the Lord, he calls out of his distress.

The word cry gives a sense, I think, of almost an urgency, a sense of fervency as he's pleading and coming to the Lord in prayer. And again, we see the same pattern. There is the prayer, there is the cry, there is the seeking, and then the response, “the Lord heard him.” God hears His people when they cry out to Him. And here we're told, “and He saved him.” He saved him out of all of his trouble. What a blessed, blessed truth this is that we have a God who hears and answers prayer.

But one further verse I'd like us to look at is found in Psalm 34:17, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all of their troubles.” Here it's not a poor man. Here it's not simply the psalmist, but here it is a person described as the righteous. The righteous, those who fear God. They fear God greater than they fear man. And they cry out, they cry out for help, the help that only God can give. They cry out and the Lord hears. I think it's interesting, we see earlier in verse 15, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.” It almost gives a sense that we know that God is omniscient. He knows and He sees, He understands everything that is taking place in all of the world and even in each of our own individual lives. But here we have a sense that He sees us and sees specifically what is happening and the troubles that we're faced with. And it's almost as He is looking and watching and in a way waiting with His ear kind of leaning forward with His ear toward us, “Will they cry? Will they pray to Me? Will they come to Me for help?”

And so here we are encouraged to cry out for help, for the Lord will hear and the Lord will deliver them out of all of their troubles. Though we experience circumstances that cause fear, though we face many troubles and many afflictions, we can find encouragement and comfort even in this Psalm, knowing that we can come to God in prayer. That God is a God who hears and responds and answers to our prayers, and He's a God who delivers and saves us.

One final thing I would like us to not lose sight of is found in verse 22, “The Lord redeems the life or the soul of His servants, none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.” And though we may suffer in this life, and though there will be evils that befall us, and though there will be pain and sorrows and even death, yet here we have this promise that we have this security, this eternal security. For those who have cried out to God, looking to Him, calling on Him as our Savior and our Lord, we know that our life, our soul has been redeemed, paid for by the precious blood of Christ. And we can have confidence knowing that we can take refuge in knowing this, find comfort in knowing this, for we will not be condemned. We do not fear. We do not fear the penalty for our sin, but we can have comfort and confidence knowing that God has saved us through the work of Christ. Spurgeon writes this,

As we come to pray, let us remember these encouragements for us to pray to the Lord, even if we're experiencing fear, even if we're in the midst of trouble or afflictions, as we need help to come to the Lord, for we know that He hears, He answers, He delivers, and He saves.