Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. -Isaiah 58:9 NLT

Have you ever doubted or wondered in your heart if God even hears you when you call to Him? When we begin to grasp how big God really is, it may be the trigger that causes us to doubt. How can He hear our small voice amongst the entire world of voices? It can be easy to question and speculate about this, especially if we don’t get the response we are seeking when we pray. Just like many others, I know countless times I have wondered if God even cared about my prayers. But stepping back and really looking at those thoughts, I can see now that they were just lies that I was letting take root. We can be certain that God not only hears our calls and prayers to Him, but He answers and assures us that He is there with us.

I don’t know why some prayers seem to get a quick response while others may have a lengthy delay. I don’t know why sometimes there is a “yes” and others there is a “no”. And I don’t know why sometimes when we are in the midst of deep agony and pleading with Him for a certain answer, that it just doesn’t come the way we want it to. But what I do know is that He hears us, and He is for us. Every call, every cry, every painful plead, He hears, and He cares. And just like any loving Father or Friend, He wants us to know that He is there with us holding on knowing that the answer may not be what we want. Always remember, even if the reply to the call seems delayed, His presence is not. When the struggles and challenging times come, He is there through it all, and He is never leaving just because things happened to get hard.

So, when the swift answer comes, praise Him for it; when the delay seems to happen, as difficult as it might be, praise who He is anyway. Because no matter what, the Lord is still with us, still helping when we can’t see it, still leading us even if we feel blind, and is so so worthy of our praise.