Worship and the Ear of God

Worship is one of the most abused and misunderstood aspects of Christianity. Dr. Dave Hardy’s book, Worship and the Ear of God, cuts through the noise and confusion surrounding the subject of worship. In chapter two of his book, Dr. Hardy illustrates through the life of Abraham, that worship is predicated on a personal relationship with the Father.

Worship and the Ear of God

The following is an excerpt taken from chapter two of Worship and the Ear of God, Dave Hardy, The Global Baptist Times.

Right up front, I have to concede that I am convinced that biblical worship strengthens and deepens our relationship with the Father. This is not to discount the benefits of prayer, praise, or other acts of love, which are many. Like any good father, our Heavenly Father wants to hear from His children. I am always glad to hear from my son. He may ask me if I can help him with a project or if he can borrow a tool. He may call just to ask my thoughts on a particular situation. There have been many of those occasions, and I was always happy to be involved.

In addition to that, however, I highly treasure the many notes he has written. Some were on Father’s Day, often in the flyleaf of a book. At other times, it was a letter for no particular occasion. The notes were about what I had meant to him as a dad. I am aware that I fell short many times, but he always had something to say about a benefit that was his because of me. I still have those notes, many written years ago.

My point is this: all of God’s sons and daughters have needs, and He is very accommodating. He is the one and only Father who has it all. But shouldn’t there be a special time when we honor Him for Who He is? We cannot buy Him a book or send Him a letter, but is there something He would treasure that we can give? There is. We can pray to Him, and we can praise Him, but we will never be closer than when we worship Him. When we kneel before Him, it is a one-on-one time with everything and everyone else closed out. We can gain God’s attention in effectual prayer and praise, but if you want that special closeness, choose worship. You may find that you have His ear more than ever before.

Abraham’s example of worship

Abraham had that special relationship with God. He is the first person to whom the word worship is ascribed. What we learn from him—as a person, from his family, and from his dealings with God—is of immeasurable value. I never tire of reading about his pilgrimage and the myriad lessons to be learned from him. Abraham certainly had the ear of God, and part of that may be because God had Abraham’s ear. When God spoke to him in Genesis 12 about leaving all that he had known, Abraham was listening.

God did not always respond to Abraham within a moment’s notice. However, He always did respond, and His response was never too late to serve the better purpose. Isaac may have been a long time in coming, but he came, nonetheless. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He spoke to Abraham about it, and Abraham interceded for the people living there. Abraham asked God if He would spare the city if fifty righteous people could be found. God listened and honored that request. Unfortunately (you know the rest of the story), fifty righteous people could not be found! A lengthy exchange ensued between Abraham and God as the number was reduced, little by little, all the way down to ten. Abraham had God’s ear at every step, and God responded positively to every request.

Abraham’s relationship with God

If you are familiar with the biblical account of Abraham and his conversations with God, you know there was something special in their relationship. In spite of this, the biblical account makes it plain that Abraham had a number of failures in his life as well. I simply mention this to remind us that God did not require perfection of him. But a cursory reading of Genesis 12 and other sections of Scripture reveals that Abraham was committed to building altars to meet with God (Gen. 12:7, 8; 13:4; 22:9). Altars are for sacrifice and worship.

It was Abraham’s relationship with God that gained him a hearing—not his much speaking, like that of the heathen as recorded in Matthew 6:7. That passage is reminiscent of I Kings 18:21—40 with its account of the standoff between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. They cried unto Baal all morning with no response. At noon Elijah mocked them and their god. They continued their antics until the time of the evening sacrifice, yet it gained them nothing. Then Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord—a place for sacrifice and worship. Following that, he spoke for approximately thirty seconds, and the fire fell and consumed the sacrifice.

One of the most amazing statements about Abraham is found in James 2:23. The Bible says, “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

Are you God’s friend?

I am thankful that I have many friends. Some are as close as family to me. However, I cannot bring myself to claim to be known as the friend of God. I would like this to be said of me, but only He can give that distinction. On the other hand, He has certainly been a Friend to me.

One major characteristic of friendship is communication. Each has the other’s ear. Abraham’s faith is well noted and certainly holds a place in his relationship with God and having God’s ear. However, do not miss the fact that Abraham’s faith required an object. That object was God. God was his substance of things hoped for when there was no visible evidence. Let’s say it this way: Who God was and What God was were enough for Abraham. We all face times in life when God is the only One who can help us. What is the ear of God worth then?

The act of worship demonstrates worth

Another account of worship and someone having access to the ear of God is found in Matthew 15:21-28. When Jesus entered the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, a woman approached Him concerning her daughter who was “…grievously vexed with a devil.” In verses 23 and 24, she was unable to get a hearing from Jesus or His disciples. In verse 25, she “worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.” Still her request was unanswered, but she had gained a hearing. Jesus then explained to her that He was sent primarily to the Jews and that it wasn’t right for Him to deviate from that work.

The example He used was that of a man taking food from his kids and feeding the dogs. It was a picture of the household pet hanging around for scraps. She agreed but reminded Him that the dogs got the leftover crumbs that fell from the table. Here, then, was a great revelation of her evaluation of the Lord. The act of worship had already illustrated His worth to her, but another dimension was added when she basically said, “You are so powerful that I do no need much. Just a crumb from You would be more than enough to meet my daughter’s need.”

When a leper threw himself at Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him, He responded by healing the man immediately (Matt. 8:2,3). Jairus, a synagogue official, worshipped the Lord, and He raised his daughter from the dead (Matt. 9:18-25). Jesus readily received worship and responded to it.

God seeks people to worship Him

As in the story of Abraham, what the Lord could and would do was premised on who and what He was. He commended the aforementioned woman for her great faith, but that great faith could only be possible when based on a great God. Keep in mind that people respond to, and are drawn to, things or people whom they like and whom they desire. God seeks people to worship Him (John 4:23).

The Global Baptist Times

Worship and the Ear of God is published by Global Baptist Times. Click here for more information on the Global Baptist Times or to check out their other resources.