Psalm 145:18
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.

What does it mean to call upon the Lord in truth?   I thought The Message translation might spell it out for us:

Psalm 148:18
God’s there, listening for all who pray,
    for all who pray and mean it.

God is always with His children.  Hebrews 13:5 states that He will never leave us or forsake us.  But does that mean He always hears our prayers?   Psalm 148:8 states that He is near and listening to those who actually mean what they pray.

There is something to be said about the power of sincerity.  God knows it and the enemy knows it too.   Of course God knows our hearts even better than we do.  He also knows when we are just rattling off prayers.   Have you ever heard someone pray, but all you could really hear were religious words that seemed empty or pious?   Jesus dealt with people like that too.  He even warned not to pray like the hypocrites:

Matthew 6:5
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

God is indeed listening and watching.

He knows when we are broken and spilled out at His feet.  He sees our hearts.  NOTHING is hidden from our Father.

The entire chapter of Psalm 145 declares God’s goodness and care for His children.

He is gracious and compassionate!

He is slow to anger and rich in love!

He is good to all and has compassion on all He has made.

He is faithful to all His promises.

The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all those who bow down.

He opens His hand and satisfies every living thing.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him.  He hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who loves Him.

This chapter stirs up great excitement in my soul!

If you aren’t near God in this season of your life, it isn’t because He has moved away.   Draw near to God again and call out to Him.   God loves you and is waiting for you!

Father, I am so thankful for Your Word!  It stirs such excitement in my heart!  If there is anyone reading this post right now who feels distant from You, I pray they will be spurred to cry out to You with a sincere heart.   I pray a fire would be lit in their hearts … a fire that would be fanned into a BIG flame.   A fire for YOU!   I love You Lord!  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

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