Read: Exodus 3:1-12

Does it sometimes feel like God is far away? Do you wonder if he always hears you? The children of Israel were living in very difficult times. They were being punished and beaten while they were working as slaves, and in their suffering, they cried out to God and asked him to deliver them.

Did God hear them, or did he ignore their cries? God never ignores the cries of his children, and so God heard and responded to the cries of the Israelites.

As Moses was walking in the desert one day, he saw something very strange. He saw a bush that was on fire, but the fire was not burning up the bush. While he was taking a closer look at the burning bush, God spoke to him. God told Moses that he had seen the suffering of his people, and that he had heard their cry. For 400 years the Israelites had been in Egypt, and they had grown into a big nation. But now God was going to deliver them from their suffering and bring them to the Promised Land.

God called them “my people.” They were his special children and so God heard them. He knew all their pain and anguish. And God was going to rescue them because of his covenant love and promises to them. Already in Genesis 15:13 and 14 God had said that the Israelites would become slaves in the land of Egypt and that after 400 years God would deliver them, and they would return to the land of Canaan. And God always keeps his promises. Whatever he says he will do, he does. And that is exactly what God tells Moses here. He was going to deliver the Israelites and bring them to the Promised Land.

You are God’s child as well, and God hears all your cries too. He knows you very well, and he has given you great promises of love and forgiveness. So always pray to God and cry out to him. For the sake of Christ, he will always hear you.

Reflection with your child:

Why does God always hear your prayers?

Source: T. van Beek