Episode #144 When you pray…Anticipate God’s Response – Overcoming Pitfalls in Prayer

Hey friends, today we're talking about one of the common pitfalls that I see when people are growing in this habit of talking with and listening to God. and this pitfall is pretty simple.

We don't anticipate that he will respond.

Now, I use the word anticipate here intentionally because this isn't an expectation. God is not required to talk with us when we talk to him, but we can anticipate his response. We can look forward to it happening with the hope and the awareness that it's likely to happen because God's character is consistent, and he says that he wants to talk with us.

I've noticed that even though we commonly use this relational vocabulary in Christian culture of having a relationship with God or talking with God about something, We don't always anticipate to actually engage in a back-and-forth dialogue. Instead, we can apply these words incorrectly.

In the past, I talked about relationship with God, but what I really meant was things that I was doing for God. I didn't know I could do things with him. I would talk about talking with God, but what I really meant was seeking understanding in scripture, and really a lot of that was relying on my own intellect and understanding, not communication.

Even talking with God in prayer, I approached it a lot of times as a one-way conversation. I spoke, I hoped God listened, and I hoped that at some point I would see a response in what was happening in the circumstances in my life. But God offers us so much more than that.

We're looking today at Jeremiah 33, and I'm going to read verses 1-3. It says,

“The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: ‘Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.’” (Jeremiah 33:1-3)

And then the rest of the chapter of Jeremiah 33 is God telling Jeremiah things he could not have known. Things about himself, things that their enemies were doing, things that were ahead for God's people, what was going to happen in the city. Even the proclamation of a king to reign on King David's throne and the surety that God provided by himself, that this was going to take place.

I love this verse in the context of talking with God, because God offers that same invitation to us today. We can call to him and he will answer us. And he will tell us things that we could not have known.

In John 10, Jesus is talking about how he is the shepherd of his sheep and how the shepherd and the sheep know each other. How he calls to his sheep and we know his voice. We respond to him and we follow him. We listen when he speaks to us.

But I found that sometimes we can talk about talking with God, but not actually talk with him.

Instead, we ask questions of ourselves. What do I think God would say about this? What do I think the Bible has to say about this?

I can ask God questions, but not actually listen or wait for him to reply, but more throw the question out there and see what answers I can come up with.

But the invitation that's before us today is to actually talk with God, not just talk about God to ourselves.

We can ask God questions we've never asked him before. And we can listen as God asks us questions and as he answers our inquiries. When we call to him, he will answer us. And we can eagerly anticipate a dialogue.

Now, if this is brand new to you, I'll drop a link here in the show notes to a bonus episode I did a while ago on some of the common ways that God speaks to us. And it takes practice to grow in the habit of recognizing God's voice and engaging with him this way. But trust me, this is the habit worth cultivating and it's what this podcast is here to help you with.

And our question today is a little atypical. Because we're looking to engage in this conversation with God. I don't like to offer question prompts that can be answered yes or no. But this question has a yes or no answer. And then I'm suggesting some follow-up steps. So our question is:

God, do I believe you'll talk with me?

And I encourage you, don't just answer this question and say, yes, of course I do.

Ask him the question and listen for what he says.

And if he says yes, then talk with him more about that. Marvel at the reality that that is the state of your relationship, because I know it wasn't always. Ask him to show you how that's been cultivated, or what he likes about it, or how to grow in that.

When you ask him, God, do I believe you'll talk with me? If he says no, talk with him more about that, too. Ask him to help you with it. Ask him why and what obstacles are in your way, and how you can overcome that.

And if you feel like when you ask the question, all you get is silence, then my encouragement to you is to go to the Bible. The Bible is God's living word. It's living and active. It's not just his past communication. It's also his current communication with you today and ask him to talk with you through the word.

Ask him to show you how what you're reading is him speaking to you personally with what he wants to show you about who he is and what he's like and then continue that conversation with him as you read, asking him questions, asking him to show you things, asking him to talk with you more about it.

These conversations we have with God, we're not initiating them. We're responding to God's invitation. He's inviting you to talk with him more.

And so that core question one more time: God, do I believe you'll talk with me?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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