“I sought the Lord, and he answered me… This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him….”

I see it here again, something very true about our God.  And yet, as I read the text, it’s not exactly what the text says that first hits me.  No, it’s what’s behind it.  You see, so much of my learning comes from considering the assumptions people make.  When they pop off with what seems to be a very strange comment or weird remark, I listen and then usually ask myself two questions.  First, “What do they mean by that?”  And second, “What are they assuming to be true?”  Ever since I learned this little trick, it has transformed my ability to understand people, invade their heads and penetrate minds.  Years of doing this has only improved my proficiency.  Sometimes it makes me appear smarter than I really am.  Nevertheless, when I come to a text like this one, I can’t help but wonder, “What is the writer assuming?”

Psalm 34 is one of those gems of a text reciting the blessings that come from knowing and following God.  Over and over David delights in how God came to his rescue (vs. 4, 6, 7, 17-20, 22).  The repetition is unmistakable and pointed, almost as if he is preparing himself for the next big faith-buster test.

So this is what it says, but what does it assume?  What is David saying about God, other than he answers prayer and saves his skin?  Put another way, what must be true about God for him to answer prayer?

Part of the answer can come from a contrast about other ‘gods’ out there.  Verse 15 says God has eyes and ears, but the psalmist is describing God in anthropomorphic, not literal, terms.  Then what about those other ‘gods’?  Psalm 115 responds loudly.  After declaring “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever he pleases” (v. 3), the contrast begins: “But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.  They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats…” (vs. 4-7).  In other words, they can do nothing that you would think a god could or should do.  They don’t even grunt!  They do nothing, absolutely nothing.  Today’s toy dolls do more than that: they talk, move and some even wet their pants!  But not idols.  And that’s the point: once you move away from the living God, you have lifeless, useless, worthless dead stuff, nothing more.  Not so with God.  Though he doesn’t have literal ears, he hears.  Though no eyes, he sees.  Though no brain, he knows and understands.  And though no body, he responds and delivers and saves and redeems.

God indeed does these things.  But let’s now move back to the assumption for the rest of the answer.  What must be true about a God who does such things and acts in this way?  First, God must be transcendent, or beyond the universe.  He must be bigger, smarter, more powerful, etc., to answer our prayers.  He must have the power or capacity to answer our prayers.  Second, God must be imminent.  That means he is the kind of God who intervenes, penetrates or invades our world and lives with answers.  In short, that means he is able do so, based on the fact that he has done so innumerable times in the past.  His whole book, the Bible, is called his special revelation, in contrast to the general revelation that the created order provides us.  That special revelation is part of his invasion into our libraries…and hearts, if we’ll take the time to read it.  One much-loved verse says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” (Romans 8:28).  In the Greek we find a word that gives us our English word, synergy.  Synergy means that the sum of the parts working together yields a greater result than the parts working separately.  Thus, God “synergizes” people, events, circumstances, whatever, to bring about his absolute best for us.  How’s that for answering prayer?  Third, God must be personal.  He must be able to relate to us and us to him.  Finally, God must be ready to answer.  And what is interesting about this is that his readiness really depends on our readiness.  Notice the second part of verse 10 of this psalm: “but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  Let that settle on you for a minute.  “Seekers lack no good thing.”  That describes a God who is ready, even eager, who responds faster than lightning.

So does God answer prayer?  Absolutely.  Does he do it with speed, efficiency, power and wisdom?  Undoubtedly.  Then how’s your prayer life?  What are you asking him for this week?