Jump Start # 3961
John 11:41 “So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.’”
Have you ever noticed all the things found at the grave of Lazarus? There’s a bunch to notice. There was Lazarus in the tomb. There were a lot of questions, especially from Mary and Martha. There was a crowd of people. There were tears. There was love. There was concern. There was a stone sealing the tomb. There were prayers. And, from our verse today, there was thankfulness.
Thankfulness at a grave. We often do not put those two concepts together. We’d expect tears. Maybe anger. Maybe confusion. Maybe fear. Maybe memories. But, thankfulness? Jesus was thankful that His Father heard Him. Jesus prayed and God listened. And, for that Jesus was thankful.
We might think that Jesus knew the Father would hear Him. We might conclude that it is expected for the Father and Jesus to talk to each other. But, even with that, Jesus was thankful. He was not only thankful in His heart, but He was thankful in His words and in His prayer to His Father.
Have you ever thought about being thankful that God hears you? That’s a wonderful blessing that we need to consider.
First, you don’t have to be in a special place nor have a special time to pray. The ninth hour was considered the hour of prayer (Acts 3:1). Cornelius was praying at the ninth hour (Acts 10:30). We don’t have to wait until the ninth hour. We can pray at the first hour. We can pray at any hour. What is important is that our heart is believing and we realize that we are seeking the God of Heaven and earth.
Jesus referred to the temple as the house of prayer (Mt 21:13). But we can pray any time and at any place. In our homes. In our cars. At school. At work. Prayer is not limited to one place. Thankful that God hears us.
Second, it special that God hears us. Sometimes we can’t reach family members. They are away from their phones. They are in places where they can’t take our calls. There are people who do not want to hear from us. Most of us could not reach the President if we even knew how. The same is true of the governor. Even the CEO of major corporations would not take our calls. They’d say, “I don’t know that person.” Yet, God hears our prayer. God knows us. Thankful that God hears us.
Third, not only does God hear us, any time and any place, God knows us. He knows our situation. He knows what we need. We don’t have to introduce ourselves to God. We don’t have to explain the backstory to our story. He knows. He has always known us. There is not a time when God has not known you. So, you are not talking to a stranger. You are not talking to someone who has to look at our charts to figure out what’s going on with us. He knows. You are not talking to a stranger. You are talking to a friend. You are talking to one who has moved things around in your life, brought people and opportunities in your life all to get you to trust Him, love Him and follow Him.
Imagine if God would not hear us. We need help, but we couldn’t reach Him. We want to thank Him, but we can’t find Him. We want to say we are sorry, but He’s no where to be found. No guidance. No comfort. No blessings. No help. Nothing. And, absolute aloneness is how so many choose to live their lives. They live as if God isn’t. On their own. No help. No words to comfort. No paths to follow. Nothing.
Jesus thanked God from a cemetery. He thanked His Father for hearing Him. Maybe we ought to do the same.
Roger