(Note: This is the final article in a four-part series. I invite you to read my introduction, where I shared what I discovered in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Click here for the previous article I wrote on God’s eyes.)
The psalmist writes, “Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?” (Ps. 94:9).
This rhetorical question has one obvious answer. Yes, the God who created human ears does hear, although He does not have physical ears. He sees, as well, without having literal eyes. These are literary devices to reveal that God gets directly involved with His people. He is with us. His hands act on our behalf, His mouth speaks truth to us, His eyes see our needs, and His ears hear our prayers.
As we take one last look at a body part that God possesses in a figurative sense, may I remind you that our ears have limitations. We don’t hear high or low frequencies. Some of us have ringing in our ears or hearing loss which causes us to ask people to repeat themselves. We can’t sort through competing sounds and noises and we can’t hear the unspoken words from a person’s downcast heart.
On the other hand, it should be fairly obvious to all who know God personally through faith in Jesus Christ that God’s ears have no limitations. They are far superior to ours. He hears all that He needs to hear all of the time. He can hear words long before we speak them and words that we would never speak.
In this article, I will share my observations about God’s ears from Ezra and Nehemiah. I will discuss a few other Scriptures concerning God’s ears so that we can know Him better. Lastly, I will ask my readers to consider what they can do with their own ears in response to what they know about God’s ears.
God’s ears in Ezra
At first glance, I did not find any direct references to God’s ears. However, after a second look, I discovered that God’s people actively worshiped and prayed to their God who they believed was clearly able to hear.
As the Israelites rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, there was an effort to follow the instructions for worship given by King David. (See 1 Chron. 6:31-32.) After the foundation was laid, there were priests with trumpets and Levites with cymbals who “took their places to praise the Lord” in song (Ezra 3:10-11). They sang, “He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.” Among the exiles who returned from captivity were 128 singers (Ezra 2:41). God’s people must have believed that God had the ability to hear the music that was played and sung for Him.
The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary indicates that “trumpets were always blown by priests. . . They were most often used on joyous occasions such as here and at the dedication of the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:25).”
We see several references to prayer in this book as well. King Darius issued a degree where he pledged his financial support for the project. He knew that it was in his best interest, “so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons” (Ezra 6:10). Later, Ezra offers a long prayer of genuine confession of the sins of God’s people (Ezra 9:5-15).
God’s ears in Nehemiah
I mentioned in my last article in this series on God’s eyes that Nehemiah began his prayer with a petition that the Lord’s ears would be “attentive” and that His eyes would be “open to hear” his prayer on behalf of God’s people (Neh. 1:6). Nehemiah believed God could see the disgraceful condition of the walls around Jerusalem and would hear his words as he poured out his heart. He echoes this plea at the end of the prayer: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name” (Neh. 1:11).
After the wall is completed, we see the Israelites gathering to fast and pray. They listened to the reading of the Law for several hours, and then spent an equal amount of time confessing their sins. In a wonderful summary of how God created the heavens, made a covenant with Abram, and delivered His people from Egypt, they acknowledged that God saw their bondage and “heard their cry” (Neh. 9:9).
At the end of this long prayer, they recalled how the Israelites rebelled in the wilderness. They remembered that God handed them over to their enemies. In their oppression, they cried out to God. He “heard them” and rescued them. However, they took God for granted and disobeyed again. But God, in His mercy heard them when they cried out to God. They did this again and again (Neh. 9:26-28).
God’s ears throughout the Bible
Psalm 5:1-3 immediately comes to mind, in the form of a praise hymn. The psalmist wrote: “Give ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my meditation. Harken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God. For unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning” (KJV). (Click here to watch and listen to a video of this song from one of the Maranatha Praise albums from way back when.)
My wife reminded me of a verse found in Isa. 65:24 that has a personal meaning to her. Yahweh declares, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” This promise teaches us that even before we utter a word, God has already prepared an answer. What we learn from this passage is that God is always one step ahead of us. He knows what we need way before we have taken the time, found the courage, and put the right words together to lift up our need.
In the Gospels, I found an interesting verse. A blind man that Jesus had just healed said in John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.” It was a common teaching at the time in the Jewish faith that God only hears and responds to the prayers of His faithful ones. The only prayer God would answer from an unbeliever would be one of repentance.
How should we respond to God’s ears?
Because God listened to the prayers of His people, they listened to His word. We see this in Neh. 8:3, when Ezra reads the Law on the first day of the month. “He read it aloud from daybreak till noon . . . And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” We see it again the very next day (Neh. 8:13) and also on the twenty-fourth day of the same month (Neh. 9:1-3). This attitude of humility was in contrast to what their forefathers had done, which was to refuse to listen (Neh. 9:17).
This same response is appropriate for us. Jesus said, “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.” (John 8:47). God’s people listen to Him. In John 10:27. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” Jesus’s sheep are ones who trust the Shepherd and actively listen to His voice so that they do not go astray.
Moreover, the natural response by a believer to knowing that God actively listens to the prayers of His people is for us to pray. If we believe God is listening, how can we not lift up our voices? Just like our response to the words coming from God’s mouth through the Bible is to listen to Him speak, our right response to God’s ability and desire to hear us is for us to speak with Him.
As I referenced musical instruments and singing earlier, I could not help but recall that believers are called to praise and worship through song. Psalm 96:1 declares, “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” Singing our praises to the Lord, which involves our heart, soul, mind, and strength, is a great way for us to express our love to God, which Jesus taught was the greatest commandment.
Final thoughts
For those who have joined me in this deeper study of some of the attributes of God, I applaud you for sticking with it as I have posted these articles since late January. I trust that these insights that I observed were helpful in your pursuit of drawing near to God the Father. This lifelong endeavor is what Jesus envisioned, as He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross so that we could be reconciled to God.
I encourage you to continue to pop in and out of both the Old and New Testaments to discover the treasures that you will find as the Holy Spirit teaches you about God the Father and God the Son on every page.
About the author:
Russell E. Gehrlein (Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband of 43 years, father of three, grandfather of five, and author of the book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work, published by WestBow Press in February 2018. He received a Master of Arts in biblical studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 2015. He is passionate about helping his brothers and sisters in Christ with ordinary jobs understand that their work matters to God and that they can experience His presence at work every day. He has written more than 320 articles on a variety of faith and work and other topics; many of them have been published or posted on Christian organization’s websites, including the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, Coram Deo, Nashville Institute for Faith + Work, Made to Flourish, The Gospel Coalition, and Christian Grandfather Magazine.
Reflections on Theological Topics of Interest 