“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me’” (John 11:33-42 ESV).
Timothy Jones points out that Jesus does not speak this prayer of thanksgiving after Lazarus has been raised from the dead. Jesus speaks this prayer of thanksgiving while Lazarus is still decomposing in the tomb. Jesus is not thanking God because he is certain God will raise Lazarus. He thanks God simply because God hears him.
And what did God hear? Jones argues that God heard Jesus’ tears: “When [Jesus] found himself in the shadow of his friend’s tomb, he couldn’t put his prayers into words, so he put them into tears instead. And his Father heard his cries.” Jones concludes: “Perhaps it’s because at the heart of all our prayers, what we really want is not an answer but an assurance—an assurance that our Father is listening.”
Jesus thanks God simply because God hears. Even in the midst of a painful time, Jesus believes that God hears. And that’s all Jesus needs.
Take a few moments and just thank God for his open ears, for the way his door is always open, for how God is always willing to listen. Thank him especially for hearing the prayers of all those at Highland as we’re seeking his will about the next big thing.
