"I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray."(Psalm 17:6 NLT)
The translation of this verse really popped out at me - particularly the last part, "bend down and listen". I get a picture of God, tall and strong, standing up or even sitting on His throne, and the psalmist (and me) looking up at Him, a tiny little thing wanting to get His attention. I see a twofold reality: God is
- Lord. I'm thinking here of the word Yahweh/Jehovah that is translated "Lord" and is written in small capitals in the Old Testament. This is the "I AM WHO I AM", the One who has no beginning nor end, the Creator, the self-sufficient One. Yahweh is holy. No one who is unholy can approach him. Think about Moses' first encounter with Yahweh at the "burning bush". The ground on which Moses had begun to walk was holy because of the presence of holy Yahweh (see Exodus 3:1-6). Because of who He is and because of His character and attributes, Yahweh is high above us. I'm not thinking so much of location as I am of stature and status. We can't be raised to His stature and status, so if He decides to listen to us (which He usually does), He has to "bend" toward us. An illustration of Yahweh bending toward us is the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote: "...Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God...made himself nothing...he humbled himself and became obedient..." (Philippians 2:5-8 NIV)
- Father. I have been told that if an adult wants to talk to a child, the adult should stoop down to the child's eye level. This puts the child at ease and facilitates communication. In the New Testament, and particularly in the ministry of Jesus and the writings of Paul, there is a strong emphasis on God as Abba, father (see, for example, Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6). Fathers who love their children and truly want to hear what their children have to say, bend down to listen to them. God is our Father because of Jesus Christ: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children...heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:16-17 NIV) Because we are His through Christ, God wants to hear what we have to say. He is bigger than we are, so He "bends down" to hear what we have to say when we pray to Him. I absolutely love that picture of God bending down to listen to me because He loves me!
When you talk to God today, try to imagine Him bending down so that He can listen to you. Then dwell a little bit on how that makes you feel. When we raise our prayers UP to God, God bends DOWN so that we know that He is listening to us. Prayers up, God's ears down. Up and down.
Heavenly Father, thank You for bending down to listen to us. That reminds us of how much You love us. We love You, too! Amen.
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