We believe the Bible tells a single story, celebrating the one true God who hears His people. From beginning to end, Genesis to Revelation, we discover that God hears those who cry out to Him. This enduring attribute of God is woven into every book and chapter. Even the smallest details in Scripture reveal that God hears us when we pray.
God hears those who cry out to Him.
The hidden manna
In Revelation 2:17, Jesus speaks to suffering people. He offers hope and victory for those who persevere in faith. Jesus demonstrates the lengths to which God will go to meet our needs when we call out to Him. Jesus says, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna.”
Throughout Scripture, “manna,” or bread from heaven, reminds us that God hears His people and tenderly provides just what we need when we need it.
God hears His people and tenderly provides just what we need when we need it.
In Exodus 16, the Israelites were exhausted, wandering the desert, and doubting God’s faithfulness. In verse 3, they cried, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
In His mercy, God heard His people. The Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you … I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God’” (Exodus 16: 5,12).
God fulfilled this promise. Scripture tells us, “The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.” (Exodus 16:31). Upon giving the manna to the Israelites, the Lord commanded this: “Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt” (Exodus 16:32).
Generations later, God’s people cried out again. Struggling under Rome’s authority, God responded. Breaking 400 years of silence, He provided exactly what they needed—Jesus.
In John 6:48-51, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
The heart of God
In Revelation 2, the reference to manna reminds us that God hears His people when we call out to Him. When we persevere in faith, God provides just what we need to stand victorious in Christ. God’s provision sustains His people. In His tenderness, He meets our deepest needs.
God’s provision sustains His people.
Revelation was written to bring hope to suffering people, and the “hidden manna” gives us hope today. When life feels overwhelming, and we simply don’t feel “victorious,” we can trust that when we cry out to God, we cry out to the one who hears and provides.