Hello? Hello? Can I Get an Improved Connection?

Connection with God is Key.

As we go through my 13 Prayers for my readers, I hope you see that they focus around building and maintaining a strong relationship and connection with God.

The prayers we’ve covered are:

The prayer:

That you learn to identify God’s voice.

Why it matters:

Relationships are about connection.

Perhaps you can recognize the voices of certain people on the phone. Okay, maybe caller ID has weakened that particular skill, but maybe you can. It would have to be someone you’ve spent a great deal of time with. Someone you have a connection with. And that’s the point of this prayer.

A. An Instructional Connection:

In Jere. 33:3, God says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Did you catch that? Because of our connection, God wants to tell us great and mighty things — PLUS He will answer when we call. And if it isn’t clear from that verse, how about another?

Ps. 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” God promises instruction and teaching as well as counseling and His eye of protection. That sounds like He’s talking about a close connection, doesn’t it?

B. An Empowering Connection:

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is found in 1 Kings 19. It’s important to know the background to this extraordinary event. Elijah – a chosen prophet of God had just demonstrated (quite miraculously) that God is very real to a bunch of Baal followers. He did this with a stone altar, wood and an ox for a sacrifice, but he flooded the offering with 12 pitchers of water first. Water even filled a trench around the altar. Then Elijah prayed (1 Kings 18:37) “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again.”

So, just as He promises in Jere. 33.3, God answered. Fire came from Heaven and completely consumed the ox and wood. It also took the stones and all the water from the trench. What an answer!

But the King wanted to kill Elijah, so he ran. And prayed to die. Then with strength from an angel of the Lord who provided a meal and the opportunity for a good nap, he marched 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb, “the mountain of God.”

C. The Connection of Conversation:

A true conversation goes back and forth between those involved. And in 1 Kings 19, there was a Holy conversation. But before we go there, I want to address a comment someone said to me years ago:

“God doesn’t really talk aloud to people any more.”

My heart breaks for that person. You see, my God is the same yesterday, today, and for all eternity, and in Is. 30:21 He mentioned “ears hearing.” (“And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”)

Anyway, back to Elijah. God asked why he had gone to the mountain, and Elijah gave a pity-party answer. So God told him to leave the cave and stand outside so He could just walk by. A wind, an earthquake, and a fire passed by, but God wasn’t in any of them. He came in a whisper. 19:13 begins, “…and when Elijah HEARD it…”

He heard it and knew! How? Because he’d spent so much time with God that he recognized His voice. He and God had such a close connection that Elijah heard and knew God’s quiet whisper!

The Still Small Voice

In my house, we call it “my little voice,” but Hubby and I know it’s God. It’s not a daily thing, sadly. Because I’d love to HEAR Him every hour of every day. But it has shown up more than once. From “slowdown on this country road in the dark” (there were deer in the road just over a hill) to “Go buy donuts instead of postage stamps” (I would have walked into a violent situation at my local post office) — I have learned to heed His words. And I’m praying that connection becomes real for you, too.

Abba Father, I praise You for Your protection and guidance! I ask that You bless each reader with a whisper that they will recognize as Your loving and instructional voice. Give us the faith to seek this connection with You.