UNDERSTANDING THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2022.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION!

Memory verse: "I will stand my watch, And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected." (Habakkuk 2 vs 1.)

READ: Jeremiah 33 vs 3; Matthew 7 vs 7 - 8:

Jeremiah 33:3: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

7:8: For everyone who asks receives, and He who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 

INTIMATION:

Prayer is not just reporting your case to God, it is communicating with Him. Some people will say when they pray, "I cried to God." Prayer is not about crying; it is a two way communication, and you pay attention to hear the other party in the communication. It is like a telephone conversation. If you are crying, you will hardly hear the party at the other end. Every genuine discussion or dialogue is made up of comments. enquiries and responses from the parties involved. 

But most people do all the talking in prayers, not giving God a chance to speak to them in return, nor pausing to listen to what He has to say. The  right attitude in prayer was expressed by prophet Habakkuk in our memory verse, "I will stand my watch, And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected."

If you are not watchful, you will miss His answer. The watchman and rampart (watchtower), are often used by the prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk—to show an attitude of expectation, and here they are pictures of Habakkuk's attitude of patiently waiting, and watching out for God's response. To truly win in prayer, it  requires your being alert in the spirit, listening in meditation and keeping your heart open to receive what God has to say to you.

Watchfulness involves patience and perseverance. You also have to engage in intense worship, in order to maintain the communication channel, and be patient to receive your answer. When you ask a question and there doesn't seem to be an immediate response, you begin to worship and call God by His names. Then you ask again, "Lord, what are You saying?" You are sure to get an answer, because He assures us: "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know"  -(Jeremiah 33 vs 3).

God answers us in various ways. His answer may be through a night vision, a tiny voice, an audible voice, a Scripture reference, indirect message through another person, or Angelic intervention. For instance, in Daniel chapter 2, Daniel and his friends, were faced with a decree of death. The king had a dream, which he forgot and wanted Daniel and his colleagues to tell him the dream and its interpretation or they would all be put to death. The king had already ordered the killing of the wise men in Babylon when they couldn't tell the king his dream.

Now see what Daniel did; "Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abed-Nego), his companions, that they might seek mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. (Daniel 2 vs 17 - 19.) 

Daniel responded with praise and thanks giving to God: "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You. For You have made known to us the king's demand." (Daniel 2 vs 23.)

God answered Daniel's prayer through a night vision. I had such experience recently when I engaged in prayer to enquire from God on a particular problem. After my midnight prayer, God gave me a Scripture, "Matthew 4 vs 11," that says; "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." And behold, the following days I saw the answer to my prayer manifest clearly, signifying that the devil, the perpetrator of all evil, had flee, and the angels had taken over the affairs concerning the problem I presented to God in prayer.

When you approach God, remember that He is the One before whom all things lay bare. The One that reveals deep and secret things, the Omniscient God. Go before Him and take delivery of your answers, as you engage in a two-way communication with Him. It is time you began to engage in responsive meditational prayers—where you talk and wait for God's response; where you make enquiries and take delivery of divine strategies to deal with the issues confronting you. This is what prayer is all about.

According to the Scripture passages we read today, God is committed to answering your prayer, if you ask, seek, or find, not if you cry. No matter how many demons are connected to your problem, God's wisdom which is released in prayer of enquiry will give them a knock-out. The Bible says in James 1 vs 5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally, and without reproach, and it will be given to him." Wisdom means practical discernment, and God is willing to give us this wisdom. 

Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds  and to him who knocks it will be opened."(Matthew 7 vs 8.) Note that Jesus said "everyone," including you, no exception. He is a just God, with Him there is no variableness or shadow of turning. He said everyone, and means everyone. Therefore, when you pray, wait for the answer, be sensitive and patient to receive your answer in any of the aforstated ways; a night vision, a tiny voice, an audible voice, a Scripture reference, indirect message through another person, or Angelic intervention. 

People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude they cannot hear from God, or that He cannot be found. But knowing God, and receiving from Him takes faith, focus, patience, and follow-through, and our Messiah, Jesus Christ, assures us that we will be rewarded. Don't give up in your efforts to seek God. Continue to ask Him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding, and He will give them to you. Also, note that a ‘no’ from Him can be an answer to a prayer.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are most faithful and compassionate; always mindful of, and watchful over Your children. My absolute trust is in You, to always direct me the way to go. Therefore, I will stand my watch and see what You will say to me in my petition to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!