“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” [Psalm 130:1-2]
Babies’ main form of communication is crying. They cry when they are hungry, tired, hot, cold, board, uncomfortable, lonely, or generally upset. Not all of the cries are the same. Ruth has a tired cry, a hungry cry, and a frustrated cry/whine. Over the last six months I have learned how to tell them apart (most of the time with the help on context clues). Last week Ruth introduced me to a new cry. It was not like any of her other cries, it sounded far more urgent than normal. I had no idea what was wrong or how to make things better. I tried all of the normal things and nothing was helping. Finally it became clear Ruth’s tummy was upset. She fixed the problem at stop crying. A few hours later, the same cry returned. This I knew what was wrong and how to make her feel a little better until the problem resolved. Everything was better the second time because I understood what Ruth was trying to tell me.
Scripture encourages us to cry to God. I have to wonder what our cries sound like to God. Does God clearly hear the details of our cries or does God simply recognize our pain and our emotion? I am sure God knows our different types of cries and has a general idea of how to help make things a little better until the problems resolves. My guess is we also introduce God to new cries. Like a parent, I am sure God tries to listen and discern all of our new cries.
God, thank you for listening so closely you are able to learning our cries. Help us learn your words so that we can share your love with the world. Amen.