16 minute read
My pulpit message notes: Listening Prayer
from TT 152
by TIMES TODAY
Listening Prayer
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Hearing the voice of God in Prayer
When last did you hear the voice of God as you were praying?Listening assumes that someone is speaking and there is a huge question, does God speak?When we read the Bible the answer is yes. But when you look at our lives what is the answer?
From the experience of Paul and in the lives of many other saints God surely speaks. We need to separate these two words i.e. hearing and listening.
Hearing God’s voice requires a listening heart. Mastering the art of listening is one of the greatest challenges with most Christians today.
Listening is the ability to pay attention to and effectively interpret what other people are saying. It is not passive hearing, but intentionally comprehending the sounds that come forth from someone who is speaking to you.
When we go to God in prayer, does He speak? Yes He does, at times, most of the times, or perhaps He does.
We come from an African culture where olden days most conversation between fathers and sons were monologues. He is either speaking and you are listening, or you are speaking, rarely, and he is listening. It is not a conversation
The more I look at the Bible I see conversational engagement between the people who walk with God and God Himself. I see a God who desires to talk. In the garden of Eden I see God going down looking for Adam and asking, where are you? What happened? That’s a conversation, it’s not just monologue.
I see David in the same level, conversing and taking with God. But today, we see two extremes when talking about listening and hearing God. There are those who claim to hear God on everything. They will tell you , “this morning as I was praying I heard God tell me about you”. And somehow you either envy them, or fear them because you don’t know what God told them to tell you. I assume, may be some it could be an issue of feelings. They feel like God is speaking or assume it. But others it is an outright dishonest way of taking advantage of the sheep.
But also we have another extreme of people who are averse, or indifferent to God’s voice. They run away. If they hear someone say, I heard God say something, they are indifferent.
There is a genuine voice of God. Though it is rare, it is there. God still speaks. I challenge us to seek for that voice of God.
5 Points
a. Why listen to God?
b. Benefits of listening to God
c. How does God speak?
d. Attitudes that enhance listening to God
e. Hindrances to listening and obeying God
Why listen to God?
I. To know God’s will.
Whatever we ask according to His will, He hears us 1 John 4:14 meaning as we pray, you want to pray in line with God’s will. Whatever you ask in His accordance He will hears us. That is why Paul in Acts 16:6 He is in a listening mood and we can see God directing him and telling him, ‘Do not go to Bithynia, but go to Macedonia. You need to know God’s will over your life and pray in line with God’s will. You need to know God’s will over your children, over your career etc.
II. To know God's timing
Somehow God seems to work with time. No wonder in Acts 16:6 it wasn’t the right time for Paul to preach in Bithynia. “7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” God has the right time for everything and we need to hear his voice so as to know the right time.
- John 11:3, though the sister of Lazarus cried and called Jesus to come and heal their brother who was sick, Jesus waited for two more days because there was the right time go.
- David in Psalm 31 says, “My time is in your hands. Jeremiah prophesied in Jeremiah 29:10. The desolation of Jerusalem was to last seventy years and Daniel 9:2 understood that timing and started praying when the 70 years were over.
- There are many Christians who do whatever comes in their lives. No wonder, I think, we have too many frustrated Christians, because we are not keen to ask God, is it the right time to move? or to do a,b,c,d.
III. To know God’s style and processes.
Somehow God seems to have a style of doing things. There are things God describes broadly, but there are things he prescribes for you. 2 Samuel 5:22 “22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees.” God gave them the formula how to do it.
- The same with Joshua, he was told how to do it regarding the walls of Jericho. No wonder Moses went off, because he was told to strike the rock the first time so that water can come out (Exodus 17) but in Numbers 20:10 Moses, insteadof speaking to the rock as he had been instructed, he struck it and sinned. There are a few things that you need to hear and to know how God wants you to do it.
- Does God prescribe everything? Did he tell you to wear the cloth you are wearing today? Did God tell you to eat the breakfast you ate? I don’t think so.
- God may not necessarily prescribe everything, but there are things that God does that for sure prescribe, but there are things that He gives you the human ability to know what is right and wrong.
Benefits of listening to God
i. Effectiveness.
People who listen and do what God wants are more effective. Listening to God will help you to climb the right wall because we many who try to climb every wall that comes to their life. They finish all the days of their lives trying / climbing all walls, yet there is the right wall. I wonder if David was not walking with God and listening to Him keenly, what would have happened in the valley when Goliath was messing up the children of Israel for 40 days? You find that someone who is keen on listening to God’s voice there is precision in what they do. How did David think of carrying five stones to kill a giant? I think he must have heard God. You don’t just carry five stones to kill a giant. Effectiveness, you are successful so that what you do is not just trial and error. I think Paul was successful in Macedonia which was the capital of Philipi where we had the Phillippian church. 2 Corinthians 8 the church in Macedonia our of poverty were the providers of Paul’s ministry and Paul uses the church in Macedonia to challenge the church in Corinth.
Are you effective in your ministry? Are you effective in your walk with God? You need to listen more.
ii. It saves time.
Life is short and we cannot afford to be on trial and error. It avoids trial and error, or cyclic lives. The children of Israel who failed to listen to and obey God, instead of going to the promised land which could have taken eleven days according to Deuteronomy 1:2 from Horeb to Kadesh Panear via Mount Seir Road, they took 40 years. Wasted 40 years, just because they didn’t not listen.
Saul wasted 40 days trying to kill Goliath in the valley while David did it in a few minutes. The cripple at the pool of Bethesda had taken 39 years trying to get into the pool, but when he met Christ, listened and within a short time he was healed.
iii. Leads to fruitfulness.
You will be able to do more with less energy and resources when God speaks to you and you are sure you heard God and obey, you will be successful Christian.
How does God speak?
i. Through illumination of Scripture.
Illume/ expound the Scripture, helping the Scripture to have meaning in your life. In layman terms, the Scripture pops out of the Bible and gets to you. You read a verse and somehow the Word of God speaks to you so clearly to a situation you are in. Hebrews 1:1 “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,”. John 1:1 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,” God speaks through the Bible, the first level. - No wonder if the Scriptures are too far from you, you may not hear him as you pray.
ii. Through impressions and compellations.
Acts 20:22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,”. Compel means irresistible internal urge or drive. There are things the Spirit of God will put an urge in you, over and over again, will compel you. You need to check that God could actually be speaking to you.
iii. Voice.
Of course God speaks through the voice and there is a whole debate whether it is a gentle whisper or a rough voice. The point is God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper, meaning, He can actually speak in a gentle whisper. - So you need to look for that gentle voice, but that statement is only put there in 1 Kings 19:12 and you don’t see any other alluding to that. Meaning, that He speaks in a gentle soft voice, but doesn’t rule out any other type of speaking because when Jesus was being baptised and a voice came from heaven, I highly doubt it was so soft because everyone could hear when God was speaking. - But, because of the nature of Matthew 11:29, “I am gentle and humble in Spirit”. The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. It appears, God will not force Himself or voice through you. No wonder with all the noise that we have around, at times we just need to settle down, reflect and listen to Him. iv. Through dreams and visions. Like in the experience of Paul, he had a dream at night, a man from Macedonia calling him. We need to get to that level where we can actually hear God through dreams. There are times God speaks through dreams and visions and just because they are not there does not mean God doesn’t speak. 1 Samuel 3 says, the Word of God was rare during the times of the priest Eli. Visions were rare. That generation had quenched the voice of God.
iv. Through other believers.
How do we verify the voice of God?
- It is consistent with Scripture. God cannot contradict Himself. The Son is part of the Trinity, so you need to check if that voice is consistent with Scripture. God cannot speak to you to go kill your friend so that you get that house. That’s not God’s voice. Also beware that Satan speaks.
- The voice of God is engulfed with peace and joy most of the time. Because the voice of God carried the voice of authority within it and expresses a spirit of peace, confidence and joy and reasonableness and goodwill because that is also part of the fruit of the Spirit. You find that there is sense of peace and joy.
- But also there is room of provision of proof of that voice of God such as the fleece style that Gideon used in Judges 6:33. But also Abraham asked God for a sign. His promise that he will have many children and God showed him the stars.
- We can ask for proof, but we need to be careful that our asking for proof is not a testing of God, or a sign of doubt.
Attitudes that enhance listening to God
i. Consecration.
I see this a lot in the Old Testament where the children of God were asked to consecrate themselves. Exodus 19:10, tomorrow I will be speaking to you. The equivalent of this in the New Testament is Romans 12. Renew our minds. When you put your heart ready to hear from God. When you remove the chaff, the evil thoughts in your mind/ life and consecrate yourself in prayer. And you are telling God to remove everything and the more you remove everything, the more the voice of God becomes clearer.
ii. We also need an enquiring attitude / consciousness to listen.
We need to be willing to listen to God, because as we go before God, we don’t go expecting to hear. Most of us many times we have a list before God and we don’t want to listen. We need to tell God to speak to us.
iii. Relationship.
To know the voice and the intentions of God, listening is not just a formula. It is a relationship you form and you walk with God so closely. I have realised, the more you walk with God, the more you are able to pick even non-verbal cues. The more you walk with God closely, you know what He wants. Even before He tells you what to do, you know what to do.
Hindrances to listening and obeying God
i. Quick fixes and haste. Today we live in a culture of quick fixes and haste. There are things God just wants us to have time with Him. We can miss that still small voice because of our hasteness.
ii. Self-trust/Experiences/unsurrendered life. But also today, most of us may fail to hear God because of self trust. We have unsurrendered lives. You trust yourself so much, you are going to pray, but you have an answer. At times I go to pray already knowing what to do. Prayer is not just a religious thing where you appear and it is ticked you prayed. No. We need a surrendered life where you are telling God, I can do nothing without you.
iii. Unbelief, doubts and fear make us not to hear God. At times He speaks, but you are doubting, fearing.
There was a time when God put a heavy impression on me. We were somewhere with some missionaries and He put a heavy impression on me to support one missionary. I wrestled with it. It took me two years to surrender, because it was our only car. How do I release that car and we don’t have any other? I am also a missionary to the students. But the voice could not leave. But the day I released it, the joy and peace that came. And when I went to pray I went asking God, now you know what I did, how do You sort me out? And I could feel you are in safe hands and for sure the LORD has been faithful.
iv. Motives, bias and selective hearing. Most of us want to hear what we want to hear. So you are actually telling God what you want to hear. At times God could actually be rebuking you and telling you, That journey, that dealing, that business that you are actually getting into, be careful. Please be open to hear all that God has for you.
v. Sin and general rebellion chokes the voice of God. When you walk in sin and evil, the voice becomes distant. It doesn’t matter how long you tarry in prayer, the voice becomes to distant to the extent some who are not born again who do not belong to Christ in John 8:47, Jesus said, “He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” Simply meaning, when we allow sin to be with us, the voice of God gets choked and becomes rare, yet there are many benefits of that voice.
When you hear God, you will be effective in your life and ministry. You will save time and could actually be hearing God on the career you are choosing, on your job’s journey. And when you hear God it becomes easy.
I am in the journey of lifting the axe and I am happy NBC trained me in that and in FOCUS I have to lift the axe all through, and I have been praying and asking God, instead of calling outside people and they all say no, I have been asking, just lead me to two who can give/support, because I will require three months and i can do that work if you led me to two or three people I will just do it in a day. It will save time. I will be more effective, I will be fruitful.
How is your life today? Are there things that you did and you didn’t hear God and consult and you know you burnt your fingers so much that they still have scars today? Are there things even now you know you are moving alone and you are not sure? I think it will be so easy if you just tarried in prayer, thanked God and moved on.
