Peterson's words may expose our hurt and disappointment, because we know we have not been listened to, nor have we listened, quite like that. But alongside the regret, we might also find an echo and a resonance in our spirit that comes from knowing that the living God is a listening God. Such is how he is portrayed within the pages of scripture.
Of course, he is also the speaking God who has an awful lot to say - not because he is 'gabby' but because his words are the expression of his infinite life and the bestowal of it. But the God who speaks is also the God who listens to his creatures. That is quite astonishing.
Our words have so little to offer to him - no wisdom he does not already possess; no knowledge that isn't eternally his; no insights he has been sorely lacking. We have nothing to add; we cannot utter anything truly original. And yet he is pleased to hear us and to listen with the full weight of his being.
He invites us into his presence to present our requests to him, with thanksgiving; to ask, to seek, to knock; to call upon him, to give him no rest, to plead urgently for justice and mercy and grace to help in times of need. All this and much more besides. Not to furnish him with things he needs to know but to honour our own being as thinking, feeling, speaking creatures, made in his image and likeness.
Knowing this, David was able to pray,
Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;
hear me and answer me. (Ps. 55:1)
You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry... (Ps. 10:17)
The God who already knows all things listens to us, takes the time to hear, to honour the dignity he bestowed upon us in creation. He is unhurried and untroubled. There is no clock to watch. There is no-one more important he needs to go see.
Which makes his invitation, "Call to me and I will answer you" (Jer. 33:3) far more than mere platitude. It comes with the full assurance of being seen and known and heard.
Few may understand us, but God our Father does, to the furthest edges of our souls. Our Lord Jesus faced all the temptations common to us and hears us as our great and sympathetic High Priest. The Holy Spirit searches our hearts, hearing and listening to their cries and longings.
He doesn't demand that we make sense as we pour out our hearts to him. He isn't scoring our coherence. He is our Father who listens, with unhurried leisure, to his children.
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I love my Lord because He heard my voice;
My God, He listens to my prayer.
Because He hears me when I call on Him,
Through all my days I shall pray.
My soul was saved from death, my eyes from tears;
My feet now walk before the LORD;
Yet in despair I thought my end was near,
My faith in life disappeared.
What can I do to thank God for His love,
For all His benefits to me?
I will life up salvation's cup on high
And call on Him by His name.
My vows to Him I promise to fulfil,
To Him I sacrifice my life.
He freed me from the servitude of sin
And now I serve as His slave.
Unite in praise, great family of God,
His children, bring to Him your thanks.
City of peace, where God has made His home,
With one accord, praise His name!
(© Jonathan Barnes)
