Mensa Otabil - God Hears (11/03/2025)
Psalm number 10; this is the concluding part of Psalm 10, verses 17 and 18. Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble. You prepare their heart; you cause your ear to hear, to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more. This is how the psalmist ends his prayer in Psalm 10. He has moved a very long distance from «Why do you stand afar off?» to a firm belief in God and His power and intervention at the end. And that is how we pray; we may start with unbelief, but we end in faith. We end in full assurance of who God is.
There are a few things he says in these concluding thoughts that I want you to take note of. First, is that God hears the desire of the humble. This goes against what he said from the beginning, that God is standing afar off. Now, he affirms at the end of his prayer, " Lord, I know you hear, even when I don’t see you, I don’t feel your presence. I think you have abandoned me; you’re still there, and you hear.» That’s a strong statement of faith. God hears the desire of the humble.
Then he says that God strengthens the heart of His people; He prepares their heart. What does that mean? It means that when we’re going through difficulties, God strengthens our heart. He gives us strength; He gives us fortitude. He gives us the ability to go through everything we face. For every attack that may come against you, God gives you the strength and the heart to contain it so it does not overwhelm you. Don’t lose heart; don’t lose heart. God will bring you through.
Then he says that God hears the prayer of the humble. He doesn’t just hear, but He answers. Everything he’s saying now is responding to what he said earlier because, at the beginning, he gave the impression that God was not interested, that God doesn’t listen. Now he’s affirming faith as he concludes his prayer: " God, you hear the prayer of the humble.» He may not respond immediately when you pray, but He hears, and He will answer. In due season, you will see the power of God, the might of the Lord, and the favor of God at work in your situation.
The fourth thing is that God does justice for the oppressed. Justice is at the heart of God’s dealings with us. In the end, God will make all things right, and that is so true throughout the Scriptures. God’s justice is affirmed, and you see the high and mighty overthrown over and over again, while the weak are protected by the Lord because justice is at the heart of God’s nature. The psalmist affirms that, in the end, God will give justice to His people.
So, if you think you’ve been unfairly treated, unjustly treated; if you think that somebody strong and mighty is just using their might against you, they may seem to progress, but God rules in the affairs of this life. Remember, when people come against the oppressed, the humble, the weak, and the poor, they are coming against God. They may have no one to call to, but God will hear them, and God will answer them. If you oppress the weak, the humble, and the poor, God will fight you because He will affirm His justice in the end.
I trust that you’ve been blessed by the psalm as we listen to the contemplations of the psalmist and his prayer. We learn from it how God wants us to also pray when we come before Him. Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, you are present with me in times of trouble. Thank you for hearing and answering me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»