Hearing

Divine hearing

God hears the prayers of his people

2 Samuel 22:7 NKJV

7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.

See also Ps 3:4; Is 65:24; Jn 11:41–42; 1 Pe 3:12; Ps 34:15

God hears the grumbling of his people

Numbers 11:1 NKJV

1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.

See also Ex 16:7–9; Ex 16:11–12; Nu 12:1–2; Nu 14:27

God hears the cry of the oppressed

James 5:4 NKJV

4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

See also Ex 3:7; Ps 94:9

God does not hear the unrighteous

Isaiah 59:1–2 NKJV

1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

See also Ps 66:18; Is 1:15; Je 11:11; Je 11:14; Eze 8:18; Am 5:23; Jn 9:31

Other gods cannot hear

1 Ki 18:26–27; Ps 115:6; Ps 135:17; Is 46:7

Hearing the word of God

The importance of hearing God’s word

Dt 5:1; Eph 1:13

See also Dt 4:1; Je 2:4; Je 7:2; Mic 1:2; Mt 13:16–17; Jn 5:24; Ro 10:17

Having ears to hear

Matthew 11:15 NKJV

15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

See also Mt 13:9; Mk 4:9; Mk 4:23; Lk 8:8; Re 2:7; Re 2:11; Re 2:17; Re 2:29; Re 3:6; Re 3:13; Re 3:22

The gospel must not only be heard but accepted and acted on

Hebrews 4:2 NKJV

2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

See also Mt 7:24–27; Mk 4:14–20; Ro 2:13; Ga 3:2; Ga 3:5; 1 Th 2:13; Jas 1:22–24

It is God who grants effective hearing

Acts 16:14 NKJV

14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.

See also Pr 20:12; Is 50:5; 2 Th 2:13–14

Some people refuse to hear God’s word

Jeremiah 6:10 NKJV

10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.

See also Is 42:18–20; Eze 12:2; Ac 7:51; 2 Ti 4:4

God denies the effective hearing of his word to those who stubbornly resist him

Matthew 13:10–15 NKJV

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’

See also Is 6:9–10; Jn 8:43; Ac 28:26–27; Ro 11:8; Dt 29:4; Is 29:10

The first Christians witnessed to what they had heard

Acts 22:14–15 NKJV

14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. 15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

See also Ac 4:20; Heb 2:3; 1 Jn 1:1

Physical hearing was restored by Jesus Christ

Mark 7:35–37 NKJV

35 Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

See also Mt 11:5

The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God

John 5:25 NKJV

25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

See also Jn 5:28–29; Jn 11:43–44