Give God A Call
How many phone calls have you made today? How many people have you called to gist with, ask for a favour, complain about something or even quarrel with?
What about God? Have you called Him today?
Jeremiah 33:3 says ‘Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ From this Bible verse, God assures us of two things when we call to Him:
- An Answer.
God says ‘I will answer you.’ The Lord will surely answer you when you call. It may not be the answer you want to hear, but it will certainly be the answer you need. Sometimes, you will get an instant answer as you call to God. There will be times that while you are yet speaking, while you are praying, God will answer you (Isaiah 65:24). Genesis 24:15 tells us that before Abraham’s servant had finished speaking, before he had finished praying to God to provide a wife for Isaac, his master Abraham’s son, Rebekah the wife God had chosen for Isaac, came out. Times like this are similar to when you put a call through to someone and at just one ring, the person picks up the phone and answers you. May our lives be blessed and filled with days that you put a call to God and instantly, Your Father gives you an answer that will gladden your heart.
Then there are those times that it appears like God is taking forever to pick up your call. Isaac prayed for his wife Rebekah who was barren. The Lord answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant (Genesis 25:21). Isaac got married to Rebekah when he was forty years old (Genesis 25:20), but it was when Isaac was sixty years old that their twin boys Esau and Jacob were born (Genesis 25:26). Isaac prayed, God answered quite alright, but it was a 20 year period of waiting for the answer. Year after year, Hannah went to the house of the Lord to pray for a child. It seemed like Hannah would never get an answer. It seemed like God had blocked her line and she couldn’t interact with God in anyway. The silence on God’s part anytime she called, emboldened Peninnah her rival, to make jest of her and turn her into a laughing stock anytime Hannah went to the house of the Lord to pray (1 Samuel 1:1-7). Then God gave Peninnah the shock of her life. When she had concluded that Hannah would never have children and her going to the house of the Lord to pray was an utter waste of time, God heard Hannah’s prayer, answered her and blessed her with a son first and then other sons and daughters later (I Samuel 1: 10-20, 1 Samuel 2:21). When you call on God, you must come prepared to hang on and hold on for a while because you can’t hurry God into giving you an answer. His answer comes in His own way and time. His answer comes after a time of waiting, but you will discover that it was worth the wait.
Then there are those funny times when God has answered you but you don’t even realise it. In Exodus 14:15 when the Israelites stood before the Red Sea and the Egyptians behind them, Moses cried to the Lord. God told him ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.’ What a funny answer, go forward to where? The only thing that was in front of them was the Red Sea. Were they to go forward into the Red Sea to drown? No, that wasn’t what God meant. What God was simply trying to say is I have already answered you, what you think is a problem isn’t a problem. All you need to do is take a step of faith and you will discover that I have already answered, I have made a way where there seems to be no way. When you call to God, you will find out that sometimes the answer isn’t staring you in the face. It takes you stepping out in faith to discover that God has already provided what you need. It takes you taking your eyes off ‘the Red Sea’; off the problem and looking with the eyes of faith to see the opportunities and testimonies that lie right in front of you.
As we call on God, we need to be aware that there are powers of darkness assigned to hijack people’s answers like it happened to Daniel, but if we have a sincere personal relationship with God, walk faithfully with God, arm ourselves with truth, righteousness and peace, proclaim and declare God’s Word, keep on praying, have faith and don’t give up despite the opposition (Ephesians 6:11-18), God will give us victory over all powers and forces of darkness and get our answers across to us (Daniel 10:12-13).
- Divine Revelation and Insight.
God says call to me and I will show you great and mighty things.
As Peter prayed, God showed him through a revelation that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; God’s arms of love are open to all irrespective of tribe, age, gender and social status. Anyone who opens their heart to God will find Him irrespective of where they are coming from (Acts 10:9-48).
In Galatians 1:11-12 Paul said the things he preaches about God are not things he heard or received from any man. No one taught him these things, they are lessons, truths, mysteries and insight he received by divine revelation. Paul was a man of prayer (Romans 1:8-10, Romans 10:1, 1 Corinthians 12:7-9, Ephesians 3:14-20), a man that God showed great and mighty things in the place of prayer.
Jacob received in a dream an unusual insight into animal breeding. Through divine revelation, a strategy was given to Jacob which made him exceedingly prosperous (Genesis 30:31-43, Genesis 31:10-12).
There are so many hidden things, things we can’t learn in the classroom, things we can’t understand with our physical senses that God wants to show us. God is ready to reveal great and mighty things to us, but are we ready to commit ourselves to a life of prayer to receive these timely, life-changing revelations.
May the Lord empower us to pray fervently, to pray and not stop praying even when it looks like God is ‘offline’; even when nothing is happening, nothing is changing. May God help us to keep our prayer line on so He can show us a great and mighty business idea and strategy that will make us exceedingly prosperous.
Let’s call on the Lord today and always, He will show us what we need to do to get out of that problem. Let’s abide in the secret place of prayer, God will show us great and mighty things He wants to do through us. Let’s keep calling, God will show us the great and mighty difference between those who love Him, serve Him and call on Him and those who ignore Him.
Go ahead and give God a call. The Lord will answer you, the Lord will show you great and mighty things.
PHOTO CREDIT: Magnet.me on Unsplash
