There were quite a few times in David's life when he was in pretty desperate circumstances. He was a shepherd as a youth and had to face bears and lions who wanted an easy meal. Some years later after he had been told by the prophet Samuel that he was to be king, King Saul went after him with all the forces a king could muster. It is no wonder that David, who spent much of his time alone turned to God and talked with him about his fears.
The Bible tells us that God hears everything and nothing is hidden from Him. In Psalm 34 which is a prayer David wrote when he was being confronted by Abimelech who would have killed him, there are two verses that specifically say that he cried out to the Lord and He heard David's cry and saved him from his fears and troubles. Verse 15 states that "the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry." If God's ears can be 'open' they can also be 'closed'.
There is a fast-track to be heard and there is a fast-track not being heard. We get to know a little bit about the God of the Bible as we read it. In 1 Samuel 8 the people of Israel had no earthly ruler over them. Other nations had kings which led armies, but Israel only had judges whom God would raise up and empower them to lead. At this time in their history the people became disgruntled with their prophets and judges and began comparing their country to others and decided God was too distant and judges were undependable and cried out for a king. God told the prophet Samuel that the people had not rejected him, they had rejected God and for Samuel to listen to the people and appoint a king. In verse 18 after Samuel had warned them of what a king would require of them, he states that under the rule of a king they may cry out to the Lord, but the Lord will not answer you.
What does it take for God to hear us? God does not need a hearing-aid. He wants a contrite heart. The definition of 'contrite' is the feeling of regret or remorse or sorrow over wrong actions or thoughts or words that go against God's standard. That is the first step to knowing that God, not just hears us, but listens and upon listening always gives the very best answer.
