I said to my husband, while feeling bothered, “if God wants me to do this, then he has to make it very clear to everyone else!” And God did make it clear to other people. He gave public confirmation, through the words of a speaker on a stage in front of “everyone.”
God told Abram that Sarai, now named Sarah, would have a child. “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son” (Genesis 18:10).
Sarah, listening in the background, laughed to herself at the idea that, now past childbearing age, she would get pregnant. And in her thoughts she asked, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
Sarah was listening to God speak to Abraham, but God was listening to Sarah.
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ (Genesis 18:13).
We shouldn’t be surprised that God knew Sarah’s thoughts, or that he knows what we are thinking.
Psalm 139:2 says:
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
I like how The Message puts it:
I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
But, what I think is surprising, is that God responds to our thoughts. We don’t expect that. We expect and want God to listen and respond to our silent prayers, which we make in our minds. But we don’t expect that he is listening or responds to our thoughts when they are not directed specifically to him.
So I have to think, can we consider all thoughts to be prayers? Or that God is listening to our thoughts, and they are as good as prayers to him? On one hand, it makes me consider my thoughts more carefully. On the other hand, it is encouraging.
Instead of dismissing our thoughts, especially those wandering thoughts that distract us when we are trying to pray, perhaps we should turn all our thoughts heavenward and make them our prayers.
Are you worried? Is your mind going crazy with all sorts of worst-case scenarios? Why not leave your thoughts at the feet of God’s throne and ask him for his power and authority to bring peace to your mind.
Are you angry and upset? Frustrated? Sometimes, we need to say sorry for what we’re thinking. Glad or pleased? Why not finish your thoughts with a “thank you” and Amen.
Last week we learned that God searched for Hagar and reached out to her. We learned that he heard her cries of distress. This week we’ve discovered that even when we keep our anxieties to ourselves, God is present. He is close at hand ready to comfort, to provide for our futures. He is always ready to help.
Psalm 139 continues:
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
And in The Message translation it says:
You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful— I can’t take it all in!
Pray
