Let us consider first today the person addressed: "O Thou that hearest prayer." Clearly, it is the true and living God who is addressed. How He stands in contrast to the "gods many and lords many" of the heathen. Of them the scripture says, "The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them [Ps. 135:15-18]." What futility, what folly to address prayer to gods that cannot hear! And how thankful ought the Christian be that we have a God who not only can hear, but who delights in the prayers of His saints, and finds them a fragrance in His nostrils (See Rev. 5:8b) "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry [Ps. 34:15]," the Holy Spirit assures us in the Old Testament, and in the New, the writer to the Hebrews encourages, on the ground of the atoning work of our wonderful Lord, "Let us…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need [Heb. 4:16]." And indeed, the Lord Himself said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint [Luke 18:1]."
Let us bear in mind, however, that if it is foolish to cry to a god that cannot hear, it is no less foolish to call upon the true God under circumstances in which He will not hear. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me [Ps. 66:18]." The prophet Isaiah echoes this when he declares to wayward Israel, "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear [Isa. 59:2]." There is no greater privilege on earth than that of prayer to the God who hears and answers prayer, and we are invited to come boldly to His throne. We are not, however, to come brazenly. As there is a protocol for approaching the throne of an earthly king, so is there for approaching the throne of the King of kings. We must come first "dressed in His righteousness alone,"our sins forgiven and washed away in His blood. The Savior alone can open the door that sin has barricaded against us.
For those who come qualified by His grace, however, the promises are rich and rewarding. He waits to hear and grant us forgiveness on an ongoing basis (I John 1:9); He will afford us wisdom (Jas. 1:5); He offers, as noted above, "grace to help in time of need," (Heb. 4:16); our daily bread (Luke 11:3); and so much more. The Savior put it this way: "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened [Luke 11:9-10]." What a cornucopia of blessing is the privilege of prayer!
There remains another thought in our text; "To Thee shall all flesh come." The commentators are inclined to see here the scope of prayer as extended to "all men," that is, without respect to origin, status or gender. Indeed when established on the ground of His grace, "whosoever will may come." The poor has as much access as the rich, the handicapped as well as the able, the young as well as the old, etc. No one is excluded from the throne who is by His grace a child of the King.
But, another application is possible. All men, irrespective of their condition or interest (or disinterest) shall, indeed come before Him; the redeemed into His favor, the unregenerate to His judgment. There will be no escaping this assembly. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire [Rev. 20:12-15]." Then some will pray, who never prayed before—but it will be too late.
Don't wait! If you have never prayed for His pardon for sin and the gift of eternal life, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation [II Cor. 6:2]!"
With eternity in view,
"Pastor" Frasier
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