You can count on it
“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers were. – Psalms 39:12
Have you ever felt like your prayers are not getting through? Like you are praying so hard, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is hearing them? I sure have. I used to pray the same things over and over again because I didn’t feel like I was reaching heaven. Until on day I realized that God’s word promises that when I call on Him, He will answer me (Psalms 91) and when knock, He opens the door (Matthew 7:8). That was the day that I changed the way I prayed. Instead of continuing to pray the same things over and waiting until I felt or saw something happening, now I just believe they are happening because of the promises God made in His word. My prayer no longer depends on me, it depends on God and me believing He will do what He said in His word that He will do. So now, I thank Him for His promises instead of asking Him. I thank Him that He has begone a good work in me and those I am praying for and that He will continue that work until the day of Christ Jesus. I thank Him that I am more than a conqueror because the greater One lives inside me. I rejoice that He is faithful and just and has cleansed me from all unrighteousness. Not because I asked but because He promised.
It’s easy to feel discouraged when we don’t see immediate answers in prayer or sense God’s presence the way we hoped. David, in this psalm, expresses that same feeling of vulnerability—crying out to God, asking Him to listen to his prayer and not be silent.
But here’s the truth: God is always listening. Even when you can’t feel it, He hears every word, every sigh, and even the silent cries of your heart. In those moments of waiting, He hasn’t turned away. He is with you in silence, working in ways you may not yet see or understand. Just as David recognized that he was a sojourner, passing through this life with all its trials, he also understood that God is a faithful companion on this journey and kept His promises then and He keeps them now.
God may not always respond the way we expect, but His silence is not absence. Sometimes, in those quiet moments, He is growing your faith, teaching you to trust Him more deeply, and preparing you for something greater. The secret is to keep pressing in and getting close to Him by spending time in His presence. James 4:8 promises that when we press in and draw near to Him, He presses back and comes closer to us. You can be as close to God as you want to be. It is your choice.
Today, I want to encourage you that He is listening. Keep praying and thanking Him for His promises. Keep seeking and take some time to look up what He has promised in His Word. Don’t get discouraged when you don’t see things immediately move after you pray. Just know and believe that God is at work behind the scenes turning the circumstance for good. Though you may feel like a stranger in this world, God is your constant. He walks with you through the uncertainties and struggles, and He will answer you in His perfect time. Your prayers are not in vain, and your tears do not go unnoticed. Trust in His love, His commitment in His word and His timing, for He is always near, even when the path feels uncertain, He will do what He promised to. You can depend on that.
Today’s scripture reading: Psalms 39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.”
2 I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up.
3 My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor Selah
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it.
10 Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, you make his beauty melt away like a moth; Surely every man is vapor. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength, before I go away and am no more.”
The Daily Dose 