שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃
Shema, Y’Israel: Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Since the start of the year, I have been blessed to preach six different places, and nearly every time I pray about what to speak, the Lord impresses upon my heart to teach on the shema.
Understanding this word and its use in the Bible has transformed my prayer life and how I relate to the Lord.
Shema (שָׁמַע in Hebrew) is the first word of a prayer known as the shema. Deuteronomy 6:4 is the first sentence of the prayer. Devout Jews pray the shema two or three times per day.
Shema has a dynamic meaning. In some places, it is translated as “hear.” In others, it is translated, “obey.” To grasp its meaning, it is best to understand both concepts together. It means to listen, take heed, and respond with action to what one has heard. For example, if you told your child to clean their room and they heard you, but did not do it, they did not shema.
The concept of obedience is so wrapped up in shema that in the following verse, the word is translated obedient.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” Exodus 24:7
Yeshua taught on the concept of shema when He ended his sermon on the mount. He compared the person who heard and obeyed with the one who heard and did not obey (Matt. 7:24-27).
Notice that the wise and foolish men both heard the same words, the words of Jesus, but the wise one was the one who responded with action to what he heard. Likewise, a number of New Testament authors write, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Lord does not intend for us to hear and then ignore instruction, He intends for us to hear and act.
What fascinates me about this word, shema, however, is that in the Bible, covenant people asked the Lord to shema them. Notice what David and Daniel prayed to the Lord:
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Psalm 17:6O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.
Daniel 9:19
In both cases, the bolded words in the Hebrew are shema. When we are connected to the Lord in covenant and shema His words, He delights in hearing us and acting on the petitions we make of Him.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15
John is explaining what shema is all about. When we pray according to God’s will, he hears us and we know that we have what we’ve asked of Him.
Another biblical writer shows us something we need to understand about shema. Isaiah wrote:
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Isaiah 59:1-2
Again, both words I’ve bolded in this verse are shema in Hebrew. I like to say it this way: when we do not shema God, we should not expect that He will shema us.
Finally, let me remind you of one thing. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is God’s will to save the Jewish people.
And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.”
Romans 11:26
Let’s pray with confidence for Israel’s salvation. He will shema us, He will hear and act on what we pray, and we will see the salvation of the Jewish people. Hallelujah. Amen.
