One of the most precious truths about our “Great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” [Titus 2:13] is that His ears are open to us; as it is written, “His ears are open unto [the righteous man’s] cry.” [Psa 34:15] Praise be to our God, Jesus Christ, whose ears are open to us – to the righteous; and praise be to Him again, for “the righteousness of God without the law is manifested…even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ,” [Rom 3:21-22] and so, though we may not feel “righteous” or that this promise applies to us, yet it is true: for again, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth;” [Rom 10:4] and, “the just shall live by faith.” [Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38] Therefore God hears us. But He does not just hear us – He listens to us. That is, God does not just superficially hear us, as if a man heard noise in the background; no, but God truly listens to us and desires to hear from us. As it is written,
“I love The LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.” [Psa 116:1-2]
One may say, “yes, this is all well; however, the passages in Psalms speak of The Father – and so, who knows if Christ does hear me, though The Father does.” But as Jesus says, “I and my Father are one;” [Jn 10:30] and so whether it is The Father or Jesus, is no matter: they both hear us, they both possessing the same character; yes, they are both inclined to our voice, even as Jesus would speak to us through the groom’s voice in Songs, saying,
“O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” [Songs 2:14]
Our voice rings sweetly in our dear Lord’s ears, He being so open to our cries, prayers, supplications, intercessions – yes, even any genuine speech; for, “He shall hear my voice,” and, “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.” [Psa 55:17; 145:18] And as moses exclaims, so too may we, as God’s “holy nation,” [1 Pe 2:9] “what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as The LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?” [Deut 4:7]
But though we know assuredly that Jesus hears our prayers, yet sometimes it feels not so, and we may cry out as David once did, “be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” [Psa 28:1] If it were possible, what a dreadful thing it would be for the Lord Jesus’ ears to be closed to our cries, stiffened to our complaints, and cold to our sorrows. But praise Him a thousand times over because it shall never be so, for His ears are open to our cries: yea, and so are The Father’s, for “the righteous cry, and The LORD heareth,” and “this poor man cried, and The LORD heard him, and saved Him out of all his troubles.” [Psa 34:17, 6]
Not only does our God desire to hear our voices, incline His ears to them, hear us, and answer us, but He invites us to pray. Jesus says, “hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” [Jn 16:24] Jesus invites us to pray to The Father in His name; and we are elsewhere encouraged, “ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us;” [Psa 62:8] and,
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” [1 Pe 5:6-7]
And again, we are encouraged greatly, “let us therefore come boldly [freely] unto the throne of grace;” [Heb 4:16] and, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith;” [Heb 10:22] and again, “in [Jesus] we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.” [Eph 3:12] Truly, our God is good; “The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.” [Lam 3:25] Continually and always we are readily encouraged to approach God through Jesus Christ, who “will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” [Heb 13:5] we being commanded, “seek The LORD and His strength, seek His face continually.” [1 Ch 16:11]
There is great and everlasting consolation in these truths, truths which shall endure to every generation. Our God who never sleeps nor slumbers also never ceases to view us with tender love or to hear our cries made to Him in His Son, Jesus. But let us progress, and see how these things relate to marriage.
If you, dear husband, have seen The Lord’s graciousness and goodness in His willingness to listen to your prayers, may you also be willing to hear your wife. If you have seen Christ reach out His loving hand to you and say, “let me hear thy voice,” and, “ask, and ye shall receive,” then, good man, do the same to your wife. Let us not be annoyed nor discouraged at our wives’ constant coming to us, but let us receive them as Jesus Christ receives us: tenderly and with joy. For we come to Him, to “the throne of grace,” and not a throne of bitterness, harshness, or anger. And at the foot of His throne, through our requests, “we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the opportune time.” [Heb 4:16] The Lord Jesus’ presence is that of grace and acceptance, as we have seen. Therefore, we are under an obligation to accept and cherish our wives’ coming to us, her questions to us, her requests to us. We must receive them and think about them, as God does for us. We mustn’t become annoyed, aggravated, frustrated, or angry. But taking example from our Savior and Groom, Jesus Christ, accept her, showing her grace and mercy.