“The One Who sees and Who hears”

 

From the time she was able to pray to this day, one of my daughters has always started her prayer with: "Lord, You are the One who sees and who hears..." She even often repeats this several times when she speaks to God. The strangest thing is that no one else prays or has ever prayed like that at home. Furthermore, I do not know anyone else who prays it in this way and have no idea how this came to her; but that's how she seems to better perceive the Lord: He who sees and hears.

Re-reading the 16th chapter of Genesis, I met another woman for whom God also became ''The One who sees and hears.'' Unable to bear children, Sarai had convinced Abraham to go to her servant, Hagar. When she became pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. I guess she now felt superior and more of a 'woman' than her. But Hagar was not long to eat the fruits of her arrogance and had to flee to escape Sarai’s mistreatment.

Gen 16:7ff, “The angel of the lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert… 8 And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?""I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered. 9 Then the angel of the lord told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."… 11 The angel of the lord also said to her: "You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery… 13 She gave this name to the lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi (the well of the One who lives and sees me.)”

You shall name him Ishmael. Ishmael means ‘‘God hears.’’ In the desperate situation in which she found herself the LORD promised to hear her and asked her to give her son a name that would always remind them both that God hears. He also promised to make her offspring innumerable (vs. 10). It’s important to keep in mind that Hagar did not choose the name on her own; God Himself gave it to her prophetically. In other words, even if Isaac is the child of the promise, even though he is the one who is born of the Spirit whereas Ishmael is born of the flesh, God still hears and listens to Ishmael and the Ishmaelites…

After all these revelations, she gave this name to the lord who spoke to her: ‘‘Atta El Roi’’, "You are the God who sees me." For she said, “here I have now seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me.”

I don’t know what situation you find yourself in today; I don’t know in what situation you’ll find yourself tomorrow and I don’t know either what kind of situation someone you love is in; but I know one thing: Jesus is alive, God sees and hears. You can address Him like my daughter, "Lord, You are the One who sees and hears..." This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1Jn 5:14-15) In other words, if God has seen and heard you, stop worrying and be assured that you will soon see Him as well. It is a certainty.

 

Have a fruitful “wonderblessed” week!