FRIDAY January 12, 2024
A Listening Ear
Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”
Acts 23:19-21
God was working on Paul’s behalf. Paul knew he was being divinely led by God when his nephew revealed the Jews’ plot against his life, and he was able to tell the centurion to take the young man to the commander because he had some important information to give to him. Paul used common sense and spiritual discernment to protect himself.
The commander was an important man, yet he made time to listen to a young boy. He could have brushed him aside and told him to just go away. He could have dismissed his report entirely. Yet he made time and took the lad seriously. He took him by the hand to talk privately to him about what he had overheard.
The commander had a listening ear. The child was able to explain to the commander, without fear, the full plot. God was working in the heart of the commander and in the heart of this child. The commander believed what he had heard from the young man. He knew the Jews had set up a plot.
Notice how God connected these people together. God sent the child to Paul and then the commander! This is sometimes hard to understand. How does this work? Have you prayed to the Lord for a need, and He sent help through a person who did not even know your circumstances? You see, God knows what you need, and He works divinely in His perfect timing. He places people together.
Know this: God has a listening ear; He answers prayer.
Prayer that is born of meditation upon the Word of God is the prayer that soars upward most easily to God's listening ears.
~R. A. Torrey~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
