It is given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom. Blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. For assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:17)
In the above passages, Jesus tells us that many prophets and righteous men wanted to sit down at the table with God and converse with Him as He unfolded to them the secrets of the ages; many prophets wanted to have what you and I sometimes take for granted. You and I are privileged to have audience with God at any time without a prior appointment or consideration for His schedule or without regard to what He might be doing. Our privilege to call on Him is not diminished because many others are calling on Him at the same time. He is not less attentive because of the “demands” on Him. He is GOD! He is with us. He will never leave us. We are now His house–the place where He dwells! And He is always home! The Bible calls Him a very present help (Psalm 46:1). What an advantage we have! What a privilege! What blessedness! What, then, keeps us from deriving full benefit?
Lack of awareness, or ignorance about His Word, plays a part in our failing to apprehend what the Lord says to us. Consider the verse that follows our key Scripture: “therefore hear the parable of the sower: when anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:18-19). It is not enough to hear the Word. We must understand it. We must understand it before we can “do” the Word, and the Scripture clearly admonishes us to “be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Our God, Who created the ear, can give us the ability to hear. Our God, Who created our mind, our intellect, can unveil the mysteries or the meaning of His Word to us. The Psalmist rested in the fact that God alone dispenses understanding. Within Psalm 119 are prayers to God regarding His Word: “open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (verse 18), “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments” (verse 73), and “I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies” (verse 125). God gives us understanding as we meditate on His Word, and even before full understanding comes, we know that if the Word of the Lord is our delight, we will meditate on it, and if we meditate on it, we will be “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever [we do] shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3).