This week I had the unexpected opportunity to discuss my faith with a Somalian refugee who is Muslim. Our conversation began with him assuming our faiths were the same. By the end, the differences became clear.
He shared with me how he must be fully clean and dressed in proper clothing when he comes to the mosque to talk to God. When he spoke of this moment between God and himself, he crossed his hands over his heart. He revered this time, often an hour or more, in which he poured out his concerns to his all-powerful God.
He encouraged me to wake up at 4 am, to take a good shower, to get dressed in clean, modest clothes and to spend time pouring my heart out to God. He emphasized, “The things you share with God are not things you would tell a friend or husband, only things for God to hear. It’s a moment between you and God.”
Despite our vast theological and religious differences, this man who was displaced from his homeland, helped me understand the theme of Psalm 4.
I can talk to God. He hears me.
Unlike my Muslim friend, I don’t need to go through cleansing rituals, wear the right clothes, be in the right place. There is only one condition I need to meet for God to hear me…I need to cry out.
“the LORD hears when I call to him.” Psalm 4:3 (ESV)
The verse does not say, “The Lord hears:
- When I am showered
- When I am in church
- When am full of joy
- When my house is calm and quiet
Only one condition: ”The Lord hears… WHEN I CALL.”
I need to call or cry out, but it is important to discuss to whom do I make my pleas?
“To you, O LORD, I call…” Psalm 28:1 (ESV)
“…when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.” Psalm 28:2 (ESV)
When I am having a hard day or my children are in a difficult developmental stage or my heart is heavy, I typically cry out to a friend or my husband with my concerns. It feels good to have the immediate feedback from them…”it will be alright”, “this too shall pass”, or “it’s only a season”.
God gave us community to lift our spirits. Yet the only One with the true power to “answer when we call” is:
- our Strength and our Shield (Psalm 28:7)
- our Shepherd (Psalm 28:9)
- the One who is faithful and righteous (Psalm 143:1)
- the One whose love is steadfast (Psalm 143:8,12)
To be more specific…
The one condition for God to hear me, is to cry out to Him who is able.
It doesn’t matter where I am, what I look like, or even what I say.
“Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.” Psalm 143:7
David is bold in his prayers…demanding a quick answer. David admitted that his spirit is failing. He desperately cried for help & relief from his enemies. We have the same freedom to be vulnerable in our cries and not be concerned with saying everything perfectly.
Let us meet the one condition for God to hear us…cry out to Him!
What does crying out to God look like for you? Do you journal? Take a drive or walk and audibly call on His name? Quietly petition him in the difficult moments? Share with us, in the comments!
What did you learn in your time in the Psalms this week?
Have you written about what you are learning through the Run to Him study? Link it up below! Be sure to read and comment on (at least) the link before yours! Be sure to grab and use the Do Not Depart button, or the Run to Him logo, so others can find us!
This has been such a great study! Thank you!!
We are so glad to hear it! Lara & Katie did a great job of making it manageable and still meaningful. The Psalms are so refreshing to my spirit!
Crying out to God for me is praying to simply know Him better, for the desire and craving of His word. There are certainly times I pray for specific things, but when I focus on seeking Him for Him, my heart cries out in a special way. God’s perfect timing is at play this morning. I’m preparing some devotions on God hearing us. I’ll be sure to include a link to this post.
I love this Jeanette! Crying out to know Him more rather than just get what we need. Taking the focus off of our needs and on His glory. Thanks for your thoughtful comment and may God bless your devotion preparation.
I am loving this study as well. The Psalms provide such encouragement. This morning while I read I noticed a cross reference to 2 Sam 14:14. To pour myself out is to give myself irrevocably to God, like water spilled on the ground which cannot be recovered! Oh how I desire to be poured out before Him. I know he hears!
Wow! Thanks Kim for that cross-reference. Rich. Selfless devotion. Be blessed.
Amen! This post sums up how God has used these passages in my own life this week. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Don’t you love how the Holy Spirit moves through His word to truth?
I too am really enjoying this study. I like that the Psalms have been kind of short, however as I meditate over each one, I am amazed at how rich they are in content. There were so many things to think about and learn. My heart just echoes David’s….I so long to meet with Him, seek Him, cry out to Him, to just experience Him more and more everyday, that he would invade my every being and my life would whole hearted be sold out for HIM. What an encouragement no matter what we are facing, cry out to HIM…he is faithful, soveriegn, and almighty. Our protector, provider, and strength. Just surrender, lay it down, release and know that you WILL BE sustained in the arms of a loving, competant father!!
So well said Genevieve! thankful that the study has been a blessing to you. I think that we have so many wonderful things ahead of us as we continue to allow David to teach us to “Run to Him”!
My thoughts exactly!!
I love that our one true God is the one who cleans us up so we don’t have to clean ourselves up. What a beautiful testimony you must have been to the Muslim, Heather.
One lesson for me this week is to always call out straight to God, knowing that He will hear me, that He will care.
And then (which this part is the hardest for me), rest from it. Not fight against it; not continue to worry about it. But be at such peace that I lay down and sleep, trusting that God has it all under control.
Oh so good Lisa…to rest after we call out. To truly trust God to handle what is weighing us down. To be at peace. Thank you Lisa for sharing what God has been teaching you!
This truth got to me as well this week, Heather: “There is only one condition I need to meet for God to hear me…I need to cry out.”
And the other part of that is that God extends mercy when He hears (and he always listens!). How amazing that His loving, tender mercy is ALWAYS available.
And, I agree with Lisa’s comment above mine… I need to learn more and more (and more!) how to rest in His peace.
Thanks Caroline! So many great truths in these psalms…His loving, tender mercy always available to us. Thank you also for linking up your post this week!
I was struck by the fact that I have to cry out the the Lord. It is so easy for us to say, “He is God, He already knows what I need.”
He wants us to call out to Him and then we also need to be still in order to hear what He has to say to us. This week I realized that even when I cry out, I don’t take time out to be still and listen to Him.
Great, great point! Not only do we need to cry out but that we need to be still and listen. Thanks for sharing what you have been learning!
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
What a perfect verse for those of us who are taking part in the Hello Mornings challenge!
oh Joyce, Monday morning that verse was exactly what the Holy Spirit gifted me. I had been up the night before tossing and turning as we had a Carbon Monoxide scare and my husband was out of town. I woke up and read that verse and recognized that God alone is my safety…thanks for reminding me of that sweet moment with the Lord!
I have enjoyed reading Psalm 4 this week. I have spent the past two years calling out to Him through the discovery of a chronic illness. I can tell you that somedays it has been through the “whys” and some days through the joy of being closer to Him. If having this illness is what has drawn me to that deeper “calling out” then I would have it no other way. Because of it I am assured of the last verse that He makes me dwell in safety. I can let go because of that truth.
I’m so sorry to hear about your illness but thankful that you have found comfort in calling out to Him. Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
I can not send enough thanks for this free and priceless devotional. Being lead through chapters with guiding questions is ideal for me. I always spend quiet time in the mornings with The Word, but using Run to Him to lead this time…my time is more focused, my journaling more in depth, and my prayers more heartfelt.
The Friday blog posts are like a little present wrapped in a bow at the end of the week :)
Thank you!!
so thankful that it has been a blessing to you Holly! Lara and Katie have done a great job putting it together. Feel blessed to be a part of this amazing group of women who seek Him and seek to make Him known!
I call to God constantly throughout my day. I thank him for this day as I get out of bed in the morning, after my morning devotinal, I continue to call out to him in the car on my way to work, during downtime at work, and on my way home. I seek him and call out to him all of my thoughts, prayers, fears and needs before I fall asleep. Most of the time I fall asleep in the middle of my prayers. There’s no better arms than the Father’s!
But knowing that God knows my fears and needs before I call out to him, helps me call out. Because I know he knows, I’m not afraid to call out to him with everything I have, with complete emotion.
Love this: “Because I know he knows, I’m not afraid to call out to him with everything I have…” Thank you for the practical examples of when and how we can call out to Him. blessings.
this study has been so good and challenging for me. As I finished day 5 today I was convicted in the point that I have the God of the universe there listening to me… Yet so often I don’t communicate with Him. My prayer life is weak and struggling…but I long for it to become vibrant communion with Him! A much needed reminder! Thank you for your challenge along these lines as well.
Wow! what a great truth…the God who created the universe is waiting to hear from us. Yet we turn to so many other places. We all journey with you Jeaniene in become better communicators with Him. God Bless!
Incredible.
I loved hearing more of the story — I enjoyed the first part from your own blog. I was thrilled to hear “the rest of the story,” as it is, over here!
And what an IMPORTANT, and REVOLUTIONARY reminder…
Amen.
Thanks Meredith! It was quite a memorable, wonderful and surprising experience. Glad you were blessed.
Thank you for this devo on Psalm 4. I actually started weeping as I read through it. It was as if it was written especially for me as I’m going through a very lonely and emotionally difficult season. I’m crying out to my Shepherd and I’m resting in the comfort of KNOWING that He hears me. I do feel encouraged by your beautiful online study and support. My sincere thanks and blessings to all you lovely ladies.
Lord, thank you for Nancy’s vulnerability and sharing where she is right now. Thank you that you are her Shepherd, that you hear her heart. Give her comfort. Wrap your arms around her and make Your presence known. Thank you Lord for community…even online. Amen.
Thank you for this study, it has been an encouragement and helped to focus my eyes back on my Jesus. It is a very rough time in our lives now, but the Psalms study reminds me I do not go through trouble alone nor am I the only one who does. God uses all things to His purpose. Here are my thoughts of Psalm 4
• I can go to my God, call out and He will answer. He has set me apart and hears my call. He will be my defense and my provider. I will lie down and sleep. I do not have to lie in my bed and worry about the future, my job, the money or what will happen. My God keeps me safe. I can trust in Him for He is my safety, my all in all.
I also like the comments that then I need to take time to listen and follow through by trusting in Him.
This has helped me focus on setting my priorities right.
I’ve been doing the Run to Him study, but somehow missed this post. Thank you! As a former missionary to a Muslim country, you concisely put into words what I’ve attempted to express many times. In many ways the devout Muslims I know do have one thing right: reverence. They understand how to revere their god, but sadly their worship is in vain. We serve the true God, the One who does not have lists of requirements but only desires to be Lord and Savior of our lives. We need to have a greater compassion for, and desire to bring the gospel to go out to the Muslim world. Thank you again for this post.
It’s so simple, yet, we don’t do it. I plan to cry out to God today in whatever situation I face.