And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your voice or give year to you. Deuteronomy 1.45
Those words were written to people who grew up in the wilderness watching their parents die wandering in between Passover and Conquest. If there was ever a new generation that had legitimate complaints with the last, this was it. We’ve lived our versions of desert wandering, but God’s deafness was as vivid to them as the faces of their dead parents. They grew up with a God who did not hear prayers. More accurately, he didn’t hear all of them. No one lives their best life in the desert, but God’s heart didn’t close when he closed his ears. There was no milk and honey, but the wanderers weren’t forsaken. Manna, water and quail sustained them, even if they also disciplined them.
If your most ardent prayers are falling on divine deaf ears, maybe God is chastising you for some sin. Or, maybe giving you what you want wouldn’t be as helpful as you think
We can be sure that countless other prayers were answered as well. God hears all our pleas and answers them with love and grace. But love doesn’t give us whatever we want, and grace saves us from condemnation, not consequences. With that, we’re ready for the point of this Med. If your most ardent prayers are falling on divine deaf ears, maybe God is chastising you for some sin. Or, maybe giving you what you want wouldn’t be as helpful as you think. But this much is sure if he’s not listening it’s because he loves you.
