Matthew 7:7
Don’t bargain with God. Be Direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we are in.
The first time I heard of this was at Training Camp last year. To be honest at first I thought these people were kind of crazy. They
believe that God responds back to the questions they asked him. I was
uncomfortable with that, but my real problem was that I didn’t think
that this wonderful amazing God would really spend that time speaking
to me! God loves us SO much. He wants to communicate with me and you.
He wants to show us what we want to know, he wants to answer our
prayers. He wants to know us, and us know him. He
wants us to have a PERSONAL relationship with him. He wants me &
you and your grandma to all have a different, special relationship with
him.
Think
if you could ask God what his will was for you and then hear his
response? Wouldn’t that be life changing! Well, he does want to speak
to us, we just have to listen.
We
don’t have to pray these prayers with thousands of words, we don’t have
to think about what we need to say or worry if we are praying the
correct way,
Listening
Prayer is asking God a question and waiting for a response. It’s not
complicated, or saying the right words. It’s about being willing and
waiting. You might already be hearing God, but you don’t want to put
words in God’s mouth and dishonor him if it isn’t him, but have you
ever stopped and thought maybe you were dishonoring him by not
crediting him? So don’t be afraid to give God the credit!
So,
here is what I encourage, challenge, want you to do. I want you to give
this a try. You might not hear anything at first but keep trying! What
do you have to lose? What if you had the opportunity to hear God’s
voice but never tried?
Take a ½ hour a couple times this week and try!
Ÿ Quiet Yourself.
Ÿ Ask for protection from deception.
Ÿ Ask for clarity to hear & understand.
Ÿ Wait & Listen.
Journal
your questions and the responses that you get so that you can record
what you heard. Then you can look back on it later. Get guidance from
someone more spiritually mature then you, so that you can make sure
what you hear is from God. Journaling also helps you keep focused about
what you are doing. Don’t worry if other things pop into your head,
like your English paper or that you forgot to feed the dog, just have
another piece of paper to write down these things, because by writing
those down you both dismiss them from your mind and remember to do
them.
Don’t worry if you don’t hear anything the first time. Practice is the only way you will see results.
When you get an answer, clarify that it is from God by going through these steps.
Ÿ Ask: Is it Scriptural?
Ÿ Ask: Will it produce good fruit, or spiritual growth?
Ÿ Don’t be afraid to ask someone (who is a mentor, or who is more spiritually mature)
Ÿ Apply it! Don’t be content to hear from the Lord, but do what he tells you.
EXERCISE
Journal
about this: Take your Bible, journal and two different colored pens.
Use one to write what you are thinking, and another to write what God
is saying to you.
Spend a few minutes thinking about this scripture:
2
Chronicles 7:14-15 “If My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their
land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in
this place.
Ask God these questions and wait for the Holy Spirit to respond.
1. What has kept me from you?
2. Have I humbled myself & sought your face?
3. What do you want to tell me?
This Bible Study was written by Emily Halls using excerpts from the book “The Art of Listening Prayer” by Seth Barnes.
