Hosea 14:8 is a wonderful scripture about God seeing and answering our needs and caring for us. The context is that God is crying out, God is speaking to His people and calling His people to trust in Him and not in idols. So it’s Hosea 14:8, and He says to them, “O, Israel, stay away from idols. I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I’m like a tree that is always green. All your fruit comes from me.”
That word ‘answers’ in the Hebrew is ‘ānâ,’ and it literally means ‘to pay attention to, to respond, to speak, to sing, to shout, to testify, to answer.’ So it has the sense of God actually using the voice to respond to us. And the word ‘cares for you,’ the Hebrew meaning is, ‘šûr,’ and it has the idea of going around to inspect. In the negative it would be like someone watching and lying in wait. In the positive, it has to do with carefully inspecting and watching in order to care for. Isn’t that wonderful that God cares for us with this attentive eye?
So sometimes in our lives we can really have a desperate need or really need an answer. And we’ve all had those times. We have every right to run to God and pour out our hearts, knowing that He cares for us. He’s not too busy, He’s not indifferent, He’s not distracted, but He cares for us and He will answer.
Early on in our marriage, we needed help, we needed counseling. And at that time, my husband wasn’t willing to counsel. It was too scary of an idea for him. So for six months, I took a walk every morning and cried out to the Lord, “God, we need help. Would you answer us? Would you get us help?” We finally did end up in counseling through grace and through God’s miraculous answer. And we got the tools we needed. God answered my prayer. It took six months.
Sometimes God answers immediately. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes it takes nine months. But know that when you ask and you keep on asking, God will answer. Now, sometimes we need to allow God to answer with His answer, not pigeonhole Him into, “I want this, this is what I want as the answer, God.” We need to allow God to respond with the best answer, because His answer will always be the right and best answer for our need, and we also need to allow Him to answer in His time. But I want to assure you, my brother or sister, He will answer you.
God, I thank you for this one and for the cries of their hearts, and I ask that you would give them that faith that you will answer them and that you see, you inspect, you walk around and you attentively pay attention to their needs, and that your delight is to answer them. Meet them in the middle of their need. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.