For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
2 Peter 1v5-7 ESV
Yesterday we looked at how we get to know God through His Word. Today we are looking at knowing God through prayer. Prayer is the way we communicate with God.
Prayer is not just making our requests known to God (Philippians 4v6), it is so very much more than that. Communication with anyone is more than just talking, it involves listening. Good communication is an art that I am still trying to grasp. Words and phrases I use with my understanding of what I mean, may be unintentionally (or sometimes intentionally) misinterpreted by another person who has their own understanding of what those words and phrases mean, and vice versa! This can lead to so many misunderstandings and hurts and even the severing of relationships.
Listening to God is not some mystical experience where we have to tune in with our spirit to hear what His Spirit is saying to us. We don’t need to go into a trance like state, or live a monastic secluded life cut off from the realities of everyday matters to hear from God. God is speaking to us continually, we just need to pay attention and give a bit of effort into understanding what it is He is saying, rather than trying to get Him to say what we want to hear.
The primary way to hear from God regarding answers to our prayers is through His Word. But we need to make sure that we understand that He is speaking His Word, and we need to know what His words and phrases mean, rather than our own interpretation of what those words means.
For example, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 14v13) can be interpreted that whatever I set myself to do, I will be able to achieve, because Christ will give me the strength to do it. I’ve heard children quote that verse when they enter a competition they want to win, or an exam they want to pass. But that is not what that verse means. Paul was saying that whatever situation God put him in he was able to cope with it because Christ strengthened him. He describes being hungry, naked, cold and imprisoned. He also described being warm, clothed, fed and comfortable. In both situations God gave him the strength to both endure hardships and enjoy blessings without losing his faith, his passion for righteousness, or walking away from his calling. He was strengthened to do what God wanted him to do, not what he wanted to do.
To hear and understand God’s answers to our prayers we need to know His character and the way He usually acts. God is supernatural! God works miracles! I don’t believe that the days of miracles are over, but I do believe that most of the time God works through natural means and expects us to do the same. There are approximately 85 miracles recorded in the Old Testament and around 80 in the New Testament. That is not very many miracles for 6-7,000 years of Biblical history!
When we are looking for answers to our prayers, we need to first look at what answer God usually gives. In a difficult situation we need to know that “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2Cor 12v9). When we are looking for direction for our lives, we will find it as we keep walking one step at a time. We can spend hours praying for God’s guidance, but if we are not applying what we already know about His calling to righteousness and Godly living then we are likely to misapply whatever we think God is saying through His Word.
My kids knew that they rarely got popular sugar filled artificially flavoured treats even if they pleaded for it and pointed out that “everyone else gets it”. It was home cooked meals, including a wide variety of green vegetables which they didn’t like but knew (or rather was drummed in to them) were good for them. That was this mum’s nature! Occasionally, Mum did treat them and they thoroughly enjoyed the treat, but the norm was well balanced meals that they had to eat because that was the way it was done in our home.
As we look for answers to our prayers, the first thing we need to look for is how God usually answers. It is usually according to what He has written in His Word and is to do with building our character to become more like Jesus, rather than just fulfilling what we want Him to do for us. His goal is always to make us holier, not just to make us happier!
