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“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”
Matthew 11:15 ESV

My son, Ben, often hears half of what is said, or he hears what’s said and misinterprets it.

One time while driving, my daughter, Shelby, and son, Scott, made a comment about a dead raccoon on the side of the road. Ben only heard two words, “raccoon” and “day’, in their comments. So he piped up with this question, “Wait, is it raccoon day?”

Another time we were at a store when Ben proclaimed he needed to go to the bathroom. I begged him to hold it until I finished shopping and we had made our way through the check-out line. A few minutes later he was adamant he couldn’t wait, so I told him he needed to pinch his cheeks and just hang in there. He reached up with both his hands and pinched the cheeks on his face. I began to laugh and explain I meant his other cheeks. So he reached down and pinched those with his hands as well. He looked at me confused wondering how this might possibly help.

Needless to say, that is one of my all-time favorite stories and it lead to a very fun and interesting conversation about pinching and squeezing cheeks.

When my husband passed away I asked God why He hadn’t heard us. I saw my husband’s death as a failure on God’s part to hear our cry of heartfelt prayers, beseeching Him to help us.

As I searched His word, He reminded me of His promises. You see, I realized I was misinterpreting everything I was seeing and not hearing, just like my Benny boy does sometimes. I took my husband’s tragic death and assumed that I had it figured out.

I assumed I could hear by what I was seeing.

In the Bible, fifteen times in the New Testament, the authors writes, “Whoever has ears, let him hear.” Jesus says it eight times and the book of Revelation says it seven more times. It seems obvious it’s rather important for us to use our ears to hear.

But, I was using my eyes to hear. I saw the pain I was in, and the suffering my children and our family and friends were enduring. I SAW the impact and devastation his sudden death had on us!

But, once I opened myself up to “close” my eyes and HEAR with my ears, God’s Word poured out over me. “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you…” “I can do all things through Christ…” “Healing comes in the…” “I have overcome death…” “He who believes in me…” “He works all things for his glory and our good…”

Healing! My revelation came- Lord, You did heal my husband.

I prayed, The Bible tells us “nothing separates us from You”, so I know he’s in Your presence in his heavenly form, fully healed. You did answer our prayers, but it was definitely not in the way we prayed, and certainly not in the way we envisioned.

As time passes, peace has washed over me and I have now found a deeper resolve and understanding to better enable me to hear what God is revealing. I’m also comforted by His promises to not only hear my prayers, but to faithfully answer them. I’ve seen Him answer so many prayers throughout my life, before and after my husband’s passing; sometimes similar to what I prayed, sometimes very different, at times I see it right away, and other times it takes me longer to “hear”.

Heavenly Father, Our circumstances can cause us to miss so many things You’re teaching us. We know that it’s hard to hear sometimes through our pain and grief. Help us every day to close our eyes and just use our ears to hear. Help us to hear what You’re teaching us, help us to hear You pour out Your love, Your word, and Your healing on us. Help us to hear Your plan for us even in the midst of our pain. Draw us near to You, Lord, and guide us through each step of the way on this widow journey. In Your precious name, Amen.