our daily bread

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Dexu Xia

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Apr 23, 2017, 1:24:42 AM4/23/17

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Always Listening

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

Dad was a man of few words. He had hearing damage due to years of military duty and wore hearing aids. One afternoon when Mom and I were talking a little longer than he thought necessary, he responded playfully, “Whenever I want peace and quiet, all I have to do is this.” Lifting both hands in a single motion, he turned off both hearing aids, folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes in a serene smile.

We laughed. As far as he was concerned, the conversation was over!

My father’s actions that day remind me how different God is from us. He always wants to hear His children. This is underscored by one of the shortest prayers in the Bible. One day Nehemiah, a servant to King Artaxerxes of Persia, was visibly sad in the king’s presence. Fearful when the king asked him why, Nehemiah confessed it was because Jerusalem, the conquered city of his ancestors, lay in ruins. Nehemiah recounts, “The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king…” (Neh. 2:4–5, italics added).

Nehemiah’s prayer lasted only a moment, but God heard it. It set in motion God’s merciful response to the many prayers Nehemiah had already offered for Jerusalem. In that moment, Artaxerxes granted Nehemiah’s request to rebuild the city.

Isn’t it comforting to know that God cares enough to listen to all of our prayers—from the shortest to the longest?

Thank You, loving Father, for blessing me with the beautiful privilege and opportunity of prayer.

Our God is big enough to hear the smallest voice.

随时聆听

凡求告耶和华的，就是诚心求告祂的，耶和华便与他们相近。-诗篇145篇18节

父亲是个沉默寡言的人。他曾在军中服役多年导致听力受损，所以平时都配戴助听器。某天下午，他觉得我和母亲聊个没完没了，他就开玩笑地说：“每当我想要清静时，只要这样做就行了。”说着他用双手俐落地把两个助听器都关掉，然后双手交叉枕于脑后，微笑着闭上双眼休息。我和母亲都笑了。对父亲来说，我们的谈话已经结束了！

父亲那天的举动让我想到，上帝实在与我们大不相同。上帝总是愿意聆听祂儿女的心声，而圣经中有个极短的祷告就让我们看到这点。一天，尼希米在服事波斯王亚达薛西时面带愁容。当王问尼希米为何愁烦时，尼希米感到惧怕，坦承是因他祖坟所在的耶路撒冷城已被攻破，成了废墟。尼希米写道：“王问我说：‘你要求什么？’于是我默祷天上的上帝。我对王说……”（尼希米记2章4-5节）

虽然尼希米的祷告只有片刻，但上帝听见了，并以怜悯回应尼希米先前不住地为耶路撒冷所献上的祷告。就在那一刻，亚达薛西王准许了尼希米的请求，让他重新建造耶路撒冷。

知道上帝如此关心我们，无论我们的祷告或长或短，祂都仔细聆听，这岂不令人感到欣慰吗？

慈爱的天父，谢谢祢赐福予我，
让我拥有向祢祷告的殊荣和机会。