Is God Hovering Over Your Life?

July 8, 2016  David Murray   1 comment

I will hear. (Hosea 2:21)

“I will hear, says the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel” (vv. 21–22). Here, the sky asks God for clouds, and God gives it. The earth asks the sky for rain, and the sky gives it. The corn, the wine, and the oil ask the earth for fertility, and the earth gives it. Jezreel, or Israel, asks the corn, wine, and oil for sustenance, and they give it. This chain of giving encourages Israel to trace the links all the way back to God. The success of every request to supply need encourages Israel to bring her own requests to God. Verse 18 spoke of the restored harmony of the animal world, and here a picture of agricultural harmony is added.

One of Israel’s great sins was the worship of Baal, the heathen god of fertility. They prayed to him for fruitful fields and also attributed the results to this idol. For too long, God could say, “I don’t hear.” Israel failed to bring their requests and their thanks to Him. He did not hear them. As He waited over Israel, listening—nothing. Nothing but deafening silence. For this, Israel was to be judged.

However, this infliction would restore the golden chain of God’s providence to their lives, both national and personal. They would again recognize their need of and debt to God. So, God predicts, “I will hear.” Israel would once again pray for divine provision and recognize it with thankful worship. And with satisfaction, God says, “I do hear.”

Has God been hovering over your life and hearing nothing? He is listening but saying, “I don’t hear.” “I don’t hear prayer for daily bread. I don’t hear thanks.” You are attributing your blessings to your own strength, to luck, or to sheer coincidence. You are patting yourself on your back rather than praising God with your lips. The golden chain of prayer, providence, and praise has broken down. But God is saying, “I will hear.” He is coming to break your Baal. When it lies shattered before you, you begin to look heavenward, prayer is stuttered and stammered heavenward, and heaven replies, “Now I hear. And you will be heard.”

  • Facts4eu

    Hi and greetings from England. Thanks for your interesting article. I’m writing because I need your and your readers’ help / advice.

    You may know that Great Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron resigned a couple of weeks ago, after losing the UK’s Referendum on membership of the European Union. We’ve now entered a 2-month election campaign for a new Prime Minister.

    And finally there’s a serious Christian Conservative candidate on the slate! It really would be great if we can get her elected in September. I thought that maybe we could get some help from the Christian Conservative community in the States, but I don’t know how to go about it.

    I’m part of a small volunteer team which campaigned for Britain’s exit from the socialist-dominated European Union, using independently-researched facts from official sources. Ours is a small but influential site, read by everyone from senior members of the Government, to local campaigners, to members of the general public. We’re not-for-profit and we’re driven purely by a desire to do what’s
    right for our country.

    Now that we’ve won the vote for Great Britain to leave the sclerotic, failing, socialist construct that is the European Union, our priority is to get the Conservative Christian candidate Andrea Leadsom into No.10
    Downing Street (our White House!) We desperately need a talented and experienced person with the right political and moral values leading our country, as we embrace the global future outside the European Union.

    So far the Christian Conservative candidate Andrea Leadsom has risen from #5 to #2 in the rankings – we just need to get her to #1 by September 9th.

    Britain has always been the USA’s closest ally. Wouldn’t it be great if the USA’s most loyal and friendly international partner had a committed Christian Conservative as Prime Minister?

    I don’t know if you allow links but if you do here’s a page we wrote especially for our American friends:
    http://facts4eu.org/conservative_christian_prime_minister_for_england.shtml

    Do you have any suggestions for how I can promote our campaign to people in the US who might be interested?

    Best wishes from England,
    Sara, for the volunteer Facts4EU Team