Who Hears Prayer

Psalm 65 is a song of thanksgiving, prayer, and blessing. King David opens with quiet, deep praise to God in Zion, moves into the confidence that every prayer is heard and that all flesh comes to the Lord, and rises to the joy of the one chosen to dwell in the courts of His house. Part 1 (verses 1-7) is the heart of that prayer and thanksgiving: from the silence that is itself praise, through the pardon of our sins, to the awe and joy before the God of our salvation — the hope of all the ends of the earth.

The chapter opens with a silence that is praise ("Praise waits for You"), moves to the confidence that He "hears prayer" — that every person may come to the Lord — and continues to the pardon: even when our sins prevail, "You will purge them away." From there it rises to the happiness of nearness: blessed is the one chosen to dwell in His courts and be satisfied with the goodness of His house, and to the great awe before the awesome deeds of righteousness of the God of salvation.

The central verse of the chapter, chosen as the title of the song, is:

"O You who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come."

The Lord hears every prayer, and so every person — from any place and any situation — may come to Him. No special merit is required; the very fact that the Lord hears prayer opens the door to all. This is a great comfort: our prayer is never in vain.