We Have Heard
Psalm 44:1
"We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old."
The greatest need of the hour is the need for revival. The Psalmist made a sad statement when he said, "We have heard with our ears...our fathers have told us,..." The sad part about this verse is that they heard what God did in the past, but they had not seen God do the same in their day. Their fathers told them what God did in the past, but their fathers did not continue to do what it took to have God work in their day.
These people heard how God delivered them from the land of Egypt. They heard the story of God parting the Red Sea. They heard how God gave them manna every day for forty years. They heard how God gave them water from a rock when there was no water to drink. They heard how God defeated the great armies that tried to destroy them in the wilderness. They heard how God parted the Jordan River when they were going into the Promised Land. They heard how God used Joshua to lead the people to walk around the walls of Jericho for seven straight days before He knocked them down. They heard of the great works of God. They heard all of these great works, but they had not seen them in their day. Hearing of the great works is not what they should have been satisfied with, but they should have longed, and I believe they did, for God to do something in their day.
Christian, just like these people, we have heard of the great works of the past. If you have been saved for any length of time, you have heard of some of the great movements of God in the past. We have heard of the great revivals in D.L. Moody's ministry. We have heard of the great moving of God under Jonathan Edwards. We have heard how God used Charles Spurgeon to reach England for Christ. We have heard of the great prayers of George Müller and how he would pray down daily sustenance for the orphans in his orphanage. We have heard how God used Hudson Taylor to reach England for Christ. We have heard of the great works of J. Frank Norris in reaching America.
However, don't just be satisfied with hearing of the great works of God. Christian, you should realize that the same God Who worked for these people will still do a work for you. Just because we live in a different time does not mean that God doesn't want to do a work through you. Let me remind you what 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." God is looking for someone who is willing for Him to do something great through them.
D.L. Moody said, "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God's help, I aim to be that man." Christian, would you be like D.L. Moody and be willing to pay the price to not only hear with your ears, but to see it with your eyes? Psalm 81:10 says, "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." These great works in the past were done because people paid the price for God to work through them. You also can see what they saw if you are willing to pay the price through prayer and hard work. I challenge you today not to be satisfied with just hearing with your ears, but to say that you will see it with your eyes. Consecrate yourself wholly to God, and you will see that God can work through you just like He did through those in the past.