Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. — Psalm 66:20

On many occasions, I have written about my son and his adoption. One of the most unique things about my son is that he was deaf from his birth. We know this was why his family surrendered him to the orphanage in China. One of the most exciting times in my life, even though it wasn’t for me, was when he was first able to hear. I’ll never forget sitting in the room when they turned on his cochlear implants for the first time.

Since that time, his world has changed tremendously. The medical advancement of cochlear implants has given him the tremendous gift of hearing. I’ve watched him go around the house listening to things we take for granted every day. But there is one thing that’s unique about those cochlear implants.

If he takes them off or knocks them off, he doesn’t hear a thing. Being a typical child, he will often get frustrated when we are trying to give him direction or correcting him when he has done something wrong. I’ll never forget the first time he took his devices off when he didn’t want to listen to me anymore.

As I reflected on this verse in Psalm 66, I was reminded of that experience. The psalmist writes his praise to God, who has listened to his prayers. There are many times in life when others may have stopped listening to what I had to say. But God didn’t turn away my prayer. When my heart was broken, when I was hurting, and when I had a need, He heard me!

Just because God has not answered our prayers as we want does not mean He has not heard us. Rest assured, God hears your prayers. He has not turned you off or stopped listening. In those moments, trust Him. He may just be working where you cannot see. Don’t stop praying, He is still listening.

Jared Dyson