Often when we want to say something with great emphasis we repeat ourselves, shout, or pound the table if we are near one. I well recall a certain person who was seeking to persuade me of their point of view in a discussion. When he realised he was not getting anywhere in the conversation he suddenly became extremely angry and slammed his fist down on the table and started to yell at me.

Frankly, I was taken back by the passionate outburst but was not persuaded that he was right simply because he shouted.

On the other hand, there are occasions where people we truly respect and love speak to us in such a manner that we drink in every word they say. When we read the message of God in our verses today He not only holds our attention but He causes us to grow in our faith and love toward Him.

God uses four verbs to make clear that His people had His attention and that He was sympathetic to the difficulties of the nation Israel.

First let us reflect on the verbs to “look” and “hear”. God wants His people to know that He pays attention to their situations in life and He hears their prayers. Though God runs the entire universe, vast as it is, yet He wants us to understand that He pays close attention to individuals on this planet earth, in one solar system among the billions in our galaxy and among the billions of galaxies in this glorious creation of His.

Then Moses reminds the weary people that God remembers. Well, what does God remember? In our context, God remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Long before these people existed, God had promised to Abraham Genesis 17:7, Isaac Genesis 17:19, and Jacob that He would be their God forever. God made an agreement with these men and their descendants.

God keeps His word and so “remembers” His covenant and draws near to these descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to fulfil what He promised in Genesis 15:16 to bring the people out of bondage and to the promised land.

Then there is the fourth verb, “concerned” which speaks of the attitude of God toward His suffering people when He sees them, hears their cries to Him, and calls to mind the covenant and makes it a going concern or fulfils the promises in it.

Sometimes we think that God does not see our tragedies, nor hears our prayers and He forgets His promises to us. If that is how you feel today then read Exodus 2:23-25 several times and see that God does not forget us, God sees us, God has a great heart for our sorrows and shall move to save us as we cry out to Him (Exodus 2:23).

Keep on praying to your Father in heaven, pour out your heart to Him. He does listen and answer. The persistent prayer of the godly will accomplish much. (James 5:16)