Prayer Is a Conversation With God, Hearing from Him Is Imperative.

The last post covered supplication and hearing God’s voice. Since prayer is a conversation with God, hearing from Him is imperative. We will look at 3 reasons we have trouble hearing.

1. Many new believers hear God well at first, but life interrupts and they may waver in their ability to hear or feeling worthy to come to Him.

.2. Others believe they can get their information from pastors and more mature believers rather than God.

3. Still others wonder why God would bother with them yet prayer Is a conversation with God and hearing from Him is imperative and expected by Him.

Practice and Truth

1. For those of us who hear God well, it was not always like this. It takes practice. I remember someone saying to me, “but I don’t hear Him like you do. My reply was “that is okay because God has different assignments for different people. But if you are referring to hearing God often personally, He is no respecter of persons. He wants to speak with all of us.

A History Lesson

2. Want information from leaders? Not convinced? Let’s go on a journey to a pivotal time in Israel’s History. The People of God were at Sinai. In Exodus, 19 the Lord gave them a promise. If they would obey His voice, they would become a Kingdom of Priests, His own possession and a holy nation. The problem was they could not do this simple thing.

In Exodus 20, they were at Sinai and God shook the mountain and scared them. They backed away from the Lord’s voice. So do we. When God is God, we do not always move near because of fear.So they told God not to speak to them, but let Moses speak to them lest they die. They would not die if they kept short accounts with God.

To Whom is Our Accountability?

Sometimes is easier to keep our sin and let others listen so we do not have to be accountable. This does not work. Moses would not be standing with them on judgment day. This was not the only issue God had with them about hearing His voice. God gave the 10 commandments by His voice prior to this reaction. Now that they refused His voice, He inscribed them on stone and gave them a law they could never keep. They did not understand that prayer is a conversation with God and hearing from Him is imperative.

Hundreds of years later God talked about this incident in Jeremiah 7: 22. “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”

God offered the newly released slaves a covenant by His voice and they said no. As a result in the Jeremiah passage He tells them the effect of their refusal.

He did not talk about His disappointment and desire for communion with them. They were unbelieving Heb. 3-4 and broke His heart. They could have had a different outcome than falling in the desert, and the nation could have been obedient to the Voice. The history of the nation would have been different. Those who listen to God in time give up their idols. They accept correction as needed and grow from the relationship with God speaking to them.

Christ Reestablished The Covenant by Voice

Christ died to establish the covenant. Where the Israelites failed, Jesus gave us a lesson so we could succeed. Yet, many are still hard of hearing and understanding this covenant by His voice.

The point is this; He establishes His covenant with us by His voice. We are His. He loves us. When He is scary, it is because we do not understand He is holy. He does not have holiness; He is holy. We must learn the fear of the Lord and listen. If we do not listen, we will not learn the Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. This Holy One died for us. He loves us and died to prove it.

He is Love

3. He bothers with us because of love. He does not have love; He is love. He is Love and Holy. Both at the same time. He desires us to know Him and wants to talk to us the way He did with Moses. We don’t need Moses to represent us. We have Moses’ direct connection in this covenant by Voice if we will receive it.

Let us press beyond the fear and the voices that tell us He would not want to speak to us. His voice brings forth the Holy nation His bride.

The Glorious Covenant Cross