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God hides from those who need his help.
"Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?." Psalm 10:1
"My God, my god, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God,
I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not." Psalm 22:1-2
"And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear." Isaiah
1:15
"Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself." Isaiah 45:15
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you."
Ezekiel 20:3
"O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!" Habakkuk1:2
"They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself
from them." Hosea 5:6
God is always ready to help in times of trouble.
"God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
"The Lord is near to all who call upon him." Psalm 145:18
"The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble." Nahum 1:7
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Explanation:
God hears the voices of His people; their prayers always reach His ears. Faith in Jesus Christ brings our pleas before God
the Father, and He will always respond to the righteous. When the Psalmist says “The Lord is near to all who call upon
him”, he is referring to a person who calls upon God to enter his/her life, as in a convert.
There are times, however, when God does not respond right away to our prayers. These are trials for us conquer, and they
build the godly character of the Christian. The Psalmists sometimes mistook God’s silence for God’s indifference.
This was not so with God; He delayed His help for His providencial purposes, which do not always align with our watch. We
must be patient and strong during these periods. As Apostle Paul said:
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience;
and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
In most cases, God will not hear the prayers of wicked people, or flagrantly sinful individuals-- if they don’t repent
of their deeds. This fact even applies to people that were once close to God, but have repeatedly ignored His calls for repentance.
Such was the case in the Isaiah, Ezekiel and Habakkuk passages quoted above. A righteous prophet praying for a nation will
win favor in God’s eyes, but a withholding of God’s wrath on sin necessitates a total reformation by the people
of that country. Here is why God would not respond in the days of Habakkuk (quoted from Matthew Henry’s Commentary):
“When God’s professing people quarrel among themselves, snarl, and devour one another, it is just with God to
bring the common enemy upon them, that shall make peace by making a devastation.”
The truth is: we all deserve God’s wrath, but by the grace of God we have been spared most of it by the sacrificial
atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not contend with our Maker, who knows us better than we know ourselves-- and therefore
knows what is best for us in our spiritual journey.
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