Hear the Sound of my Pleading
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
“Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your holy place.” (Ps. 28:2) We are all pleading for something. Some people are pleading into the wrong direction. They want more, more than they already have. No matter how well off they are, they want more. Have you ever noticed that people who are well off financially are ever seeking to become still better off. And many people who have nice houses, keep wanting to add on to these houses, perhaps a covered porch or a large deck. And when one project is finished, their heads are already spinning with ideas for the next "improvement."
Then there are those who always want to have their stuff be "State of the Art." I have news for you. When your "State of the Art" gear is just a week old, it is no longer new. That reminds me of people who speed on this land's highways. They weave in and out, narrowly missing other cars, giving most of us small heart-attacks along the way, and most of the time, the rest of us get to our destination before they do. A couple of years ago, I narrowly missed hitting someone. This person's car was trying to make a right turn across four lanes. He cut right in front of me because he did not bother to check who was coming from his right, and I had to stand on my brakes to miss him. With tires squealing, my brakes almost locked up as I came to a shuddering stop. So what was his point? It is absurd to think all this was about speed or one-upmanship. I was just stupid and dangerous!
Father Benedict Groeschel C.F.R., in one of his many lectures once said - "If we all get what we want, we'd be in jail." Some things we want just aren't good for us! Take current programming on television. Much of that stuff isn't good for us. It takes us away from God. In the old days, programming may have been dull, but at least the eager eyes of the young were protected from the daily onslaught of vile language, almost non-existent morals, whether in picture or in the spoken word. Television has become the gateway to the neighborhood candy-store of times past with its racks of X-rated magazines; it has become the world in microcosm in our living rooms. Lord, hear the sound of my pleading...
"The News," that is, the daily news that enters our houses via television or Internet, is no longer a straightforward report of what is going on in the world. It has become a "News Show," where editorializing is done before the ink is dry, so to speak, so we get a mishmash of other peoples' ideas about what happened, and we, like sheep, have no opportunity to make up our own minds how we think about things from our own perspective. Ridiculous, isn't it? Yet we put up with it, to get the "juicy tidbits" of every situation. It's sickening to me; how tragic reports are extended into an unending soap-opera. The media is so fixated on one story, that our brave men and women who suffer in wars are forgotten, until the next report comes in of their demise! And even those reports are sidelined. Is this how we show respect for those who give their lives for our freedom and security? Hardly, I should think!
Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you.... We are so much into the daily minutia of so-called "news," that we have forgotten Him. Yes, God! He does care, you know! He loves us a lot, more than we can ever love Him. But we don't give up trying - for if we do, we're not heading for his holy place, instead, we'll be heading in the opposite direction.
Satan tempted Jesus in the desert. The first temptation was to use his power for his own ends: to change a stone to bread for him to eat. Do not all of us seek material things for our own glory and so will commit any sin to acquire what we want? The more money we have, the more we want.
In the second temptation, Jesus was to be given the whole world if He would kneel down and worship Satan. Jesus rejected this as he serves and follows only the will of His Father. The temptation that every person is faced with, is to think that the end justifies the means. We will do anything to get what we want. We want pleasure and will commit any sin to get it, such as abortion, stealing, corruption, lying and having an alliance with the devil.
The third temptation was to throw Him down from the pinnacle of the temple and be instantly famous. Jesus rejected that because it was not the way of the Father. He was not to reject suffering and death as the means to be our Savior. This is the same temptation we get. People gamble and hope to get many things, including good health, without having to do anything or following the will of the Father.
Let us instead review our life. What have we done?
"Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you, lifting my hands to your holy place." Let us lift our hands to His holy place, to Heaven, rather than to an idol. Idols such as sex, gambling, drugs, the mighty dollar, property we do not need, and so on. For the sake of our comfort, we consider killing the innocent to right before birth, as if they were a piece of meat bound for the slaughterhouse. What have we done? Can God ever forgive us?
Repent! Some people seem to think that they can live their lives murdering people in the name of the Lord. NO! The Lord does not condone murder under any circumstances! The end never justifies the means! Show some humility and most of all, be obedient to God! Obey the Ten Commandments. That's a good start. Why do you think the unbelieving are crying for the tablets of the Ten Commandments to be removed from our courts? It works somewhat like "Out of sight, out of mind." But deep down in their gut, they know they are wrong! Dead wrong! And if they do not know it, they are not bound for Heaven but for a life of eternal struggle and damnation. Repent, while there is still time.
Let us lift our hands toward God, and ask forgiveness for not believing in Him! Let us put our total trust in Him, and pray, developing a consistent and daily prayer life. Then healing will follow. I’ve been healed many times because prayer works, but you’ve got to stick with it. Jesus is your friend and he wants to hear you say to Him: “I love you,” not just in words but also in actions.
May God bless you, and keep you well!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
October 17, 2022
Republished 7/9/2026