Do you ever wonder if anyone is listening?

I know it's been some time since my last post. Hopefully this will mark the beginning of more frequent posts on the blog - but only time will tell. There are times when I think about taking the blog down, especially since the church now has its own website. At other times I think about taking the blog down because I often don't think I have much to say that anyone would want to read.

One of the odd things about the world of blogs is that much is written, often without any response. I don't read as many blogs as I once did, but it was very rare for me to respond. This was true whether I agreed, disagreed, or was indifferent to what I read. Because of that, I'm sure that most of my visits to the blogs were completely unknown. The person never heard from me and had no way of knowing that I had even read the words he had written.

When I write thoughts on this blog, I often wonder whether or not anyone reads them. This is not a plea for your response to this, even though that would be encouraging. I say this because this might sometimes be our posture in prayer. We may pour out our hearts to God in some time of deep need or in our normal prayer time. When the answers are not quickly forthcoming we may wonder if God is listening at all. Sometimes we may sincerely and fervently ask for something - for months or even years - without an obvious answer to those prayers.

But apparent silence should not be equated with neglect on God's part. He most often works on a timetable very different from our own. I was reminded of this over the past weekend. There was a man for whom prayers had been offered for years. I had known him for about nine years and had prayed for his salvation through those years, as had my wife and many others. His wife and family had prayed for his salvation for many years longer than that. This past weekend, in the midst of an illness which took his life early this morning, the Lord saw fit to answer those prayers. His wife was the human instrument through whom the Gospel was once again presented to him. This time, the Lord granted him repentance and faith unto salvation. He is now among those who soul has been made perfectly holy as he has passed into glory.

Do you ever wonder if anyone is listening when you pray? Rest assured that He does.