Conversations With God
Learning to be led by God’s spirit is a wonderful, unfolding process as we walk with Him. We learn to listen to the spirit, to recognize the difference between our own thoughts, the thoughts of the enemy, and the Holy Spirit. Our Lord may speak something to us that is completely unexpected. For example, He suddenly drops a thought, a name, or even gives a picture of someone we do not even know who needs intercession. Such communications from the Lord are easier to recognize because they are clearly not anything we would think or say.
God also speaks a word of correction, a refining of our understanding. He reveals the next step in something we’re doing. He provides discernment on how to pray. Father God also has a sense of humor and can gently tease us. Where do you think we got our healthy sense of humor? Some people might think this is irreverent but is not humor a part of intimate relationships? We should become comfortable enough in His presence within us to receive all aspects of His personality. We can have a good laugh with the Lord at some of our foolishness!
As we tell the Lord how much we love Him, He never tires of hearing it and often whispers back, “I love you too.” God’s conversation is never boring, but ours sure can be! When we feel His urging in our hearts to act on such spiritual communication from Him, we know it is God’s burden we feel for that situation. Then He provides the perfect word when we are led to share with another:
“Like apples of gold in settings of silver, is a word spoken at the proper time.” Proverbs 25:11 NASB
How we long to always have just such a perfect Word that encourages and edifies others. How precious it is when He grants such words to comfort another’s heart as well as our own. When the spirit is leading the words we share, it is much more powerful than just bringing out a few scriptures that seem relevant. So many believers still need to know God really loves all of us and prefers not to be seen as a distant, unrelatable Lord.
This brings the deepest rest of all when we know we are always safe in His love. Such words are of great value! No human can promise us that, nor are humans able to fulfill this throughout our lives and beyond. He truly is a Friend at all times, laying down His life for us.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:13-15 ESV
He is always and forever with us, His people, teaching, directing, and giving us wisdom. We need to learn to hear directly from God, to know His voice. Of course, it is wise to have a healthy skepticism about what we may think we are hearing from God, particularly when it matches a strong desire of our own hearts. When we say that God told us something, it is not to be said lightly and certainly not as a justification for our own will. God gets credited with many a decision based on our own desires rather than His!
Our Father knows what is in our hearts about these matters. We have even seen this in great ministries where leaders state God told them to raise funds for a specific work of ministry or to build a bigger, better building, only to watch as it fails to produce fruit and dies. When we hear from the Lord about such important things, we do well to wait and rest until confirmation. We may have zeal, rather than the holy spirit, leading us. We have ideas and plans, but we learn to hold them loosely until God confirms.
As our walk with the Lord deepens, we also learn that feeling peace is not the definitive sign that God is leading us in the matter. We do seek His rest that comes from following the path of life He has ordained for us. But we can also feel peace because we do not want to face something we’d prefer to avoid. We have a human desire to avoid the difficult, the controversial, the unexpected, and the losses. It is not a peaceful process to face upsetting things or difficult, but necessary, changes. Our human, fleshly avoidance of what God has been leading us to do or not do keeps the fear of change at bay.
We may feel a momentary relief at these times but is not the rest and peace of God. There is a continual nudge from God, an awareness that this “peace” is not His deep, lasting rest in the matter. But as we wait patiently, God confirms His will for us over time and in many ways. He brings a confirming word in scripture, daily reading, or something someone else says as well as the internal voice of the Lord. He speaks to us in song, in nature, in so many other ways. He gives us His rest, far beyond our understanding.
“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.
No one can snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:27-28 Berean
God is always present, willing to strengthen us while we go through the many challenges of life in this world. We are learning to put ourselves in His hands, to rest in Him. When we are seeking specific answers, our brothers and sisters in Christ often have a word of wisdom or guidance that is just what we need, exactly an answer to our prayers. They may not even realize it as we are communicating.
As we mature, we recognize His voice with more certainty, just as a child knows the voice of his or her parents. He is most gracious to the sincere heart that truly desires to be led by Him. He wants us to hear Him! We ask others to pray for God’s will for ourselves and others, too. As we continue to present our heart’s motivations to the Lord, He purifies them. We become less susceptible to hearing what we want to hear. Prayer is effective!
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16 KJV
Much repetition of our scriptural knowledge is not the key. A heart of wisdom is the critical thing.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16 ESV
All prayer is a conversation with God and we grow in the assurance that He is listening. We have Him within and He is all wisdom, ever increasing His peace and presence. We continually direct our hearts toward the Lord while going about our day. It may not be visible to others, but how lovely and wonderful it is to God. There is nothing that pleases the Lord more than keeping our hearts focused upon Him, with a song of thankfulness that flows out from His presence. This brings rest and peace regardless of outer circumstances.
As intercessors, we bring all burdens to Him and He directs our prayers. In praying for others, God honors the intent of our hearts. It does not matter if we prayed the “right” way, with specific formalized words or phrases. What does matter is that we pray sincerely in spirit and in truth. Scripture is the truth we can stand upon and guides in prayer according to His will. But we can make prayer into works by claiming the scriptures or reciting rote prayers, separated from a heart of faith that is led by the spirit.
God certainly hears all prayers and understands if we don’t know another way to have a conversation with Him. But sometimes, in our desperation, we fall into demanding healing, blessing, or needs to be met. Desperation, however, is not faith. We quote scripture as if we must remind God what He promised. I know—I’ve done it! And seemingly unanswered prayers are most difficult, even painful, to comprehend. We know He can do all things, including —or most especially—what is impossible to us.
We may batter the ears of God with a prayer that He has no plans to answer with a “yes.” He teaches us to pray more effectively, to pray that “effectual fervent prayer” of the righteous. We pray more powerfully, with greater strength, as the holy spirit guides. Jesus knows all hearts and His prayers are always effective. Further, He says that this type of prayer, an effective and fervent one from the heart of the righteous, is most valuable. These prayers are effective as they come from a pure heart of love centered on His will.
For our prayers to be even more effective, however, God may reveal a specific understanding of the root of a situation. When we only pray for what we see, we are not getting to the root. It’s like trying to cut off the tops of those weeds in our gardens—they will only grow back. How many prayers have we prayed to ask God to change something external, rather than the heart of the matter? God hears and understands,when we do not see lasting change from these prayers as often as we’d like.
When God gets down to the root of it, the cause of the situation beneath the habit or sin or circumstance, His power is more fully revealed. He removes that root so it can never spring up again! In the garden of our hearts where God has planted His precious seed, He will pull up the weeds in our souls by the roots when we let Him. He desires full deliverance, a change that is lasting for us and in us, as well as for others. God is able to remove the reasons so no more fleshly fruit grows up to defile us again and again.
Coming into His rest, we learn to pause, to take more time to seek a spiritual understanding of His will at the beginning of our prayers. When the Lord shows us a situation or condition that will not change, we more effectively pray for ourselves and others to have the strength to endure it, accept it, and learn what God’s purpose is in the matter. We also need wisdom and understanding to handle what God reveals to us in intercessory prayer. God shares things in perfect timing, but we may not!
In our eagerness to share what God has shown us, we may tell someone something they are not at all prepared to hear. The heart must be ready and willing to hear from God. God may even give us specific guidance that is not to be shared with the person requesting prayer. We also may be allowed to share, to plant a seed, without observing any receptivity in the hearer. Some “crops” take longer to germinate from seed than others. Then we need to get out of the way so God can feed and water this truth.
We may only be the planter, not the reaper. It takes God’s timing for many things to be effective in this walk with Him. It’s like trying to teach a child when that child is upset, crying, and making a fuss. A wise parent will wait until some calm has been restored to teach the necessary lesson in the matter. When we are upset, none of us are in the thinking part, the problem-solving part of our brain. Instead, we are in the emotional part of our brains, flooded with feelings that overwhelm our ability to consider what we did and how to do it differently in future. At such times, we do not have “ears to hear.”
How do we know this? Neuroscience has found that the thinking part of our brains, called the prefrontal cortex, takes the longest to mature in humans, up to 25 years of age. That’s well past our teen years of unwise, impulsive actions that astonished our parents! Who knows more about our brains than the One who created them? God has always known that our brain is able to learn throughout our lives, not just when we are young as was thought forty or fifty years ago.
After all, true scientific discoveries eventually agree with God, whether He gets the credit or notGod empowers scientists to confirm His truth whether they realize this or not, to further our knowledge and understanding of this life. Science may not be godly, but God is in science! The most powerful prayers come inbedded in praise and thanksgiving for Who He is. It is always a powerful prayer to praise Him in all things. The apostle Paul says to pray about everything:
“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.
And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].” Philippians 4:6-7 Amplified
Here’s another key to the process of entering into His rest: everything means everything! From the smallest thing to the most important, from the minor issues to the potential disasters, we have the privilege of bringing every decision to Him. This is His directive to us and it matters not if others think we are strange to pray about everything. Praying with thanksgiving in our hearts is most pleasing to the Lord, showing our trust in His faithfulness. We thank Him for Who He is before we have the answers we seek.
God never tires of hearing from us, even about the same old issues. We learn to acknowledge that He knows best and will do His will for the good of us and on behalf of others. This demonstrates our trust in our heavenly Father. We can always thank the Lord in advance for His faithfulness. We build up our most holy faith by calling to remembrance all that He has given and done for us. There is power in rehearsing the many blessings He has provided, the multitude of answered prayers we have received.
But even thankfulness in our hearts must at times be worked out in us by the Lord. At the beginning of most trials God allows to come our way, it is not easy to be grateful in it. We do not have to be thankful for it, but thankful in it. We thank the Lord, praising Him in the situation, as a demonstration of our trust in His will and His way to resolve it. We are showing our God that we trust Him for answers and that we believe His plan is working things for our good—before it is visible, known to us.
As we gain more of God’s spiritual thinking and purpose, we actually may also become grateful for difficult things that happened, but that is easier in hindsight! How many of us testify that the worst thing that happened to us is the same thing that brought us to God or closer to Him? It is easier to see after the fact, to recognize benefits from that awful, most painful situation of pain and loss. We are enabled to see how these very events bring about change for the good, in us and in those around us.
It’s difficult to embrace pain, but God even enables that. Listen to Paul’s testimony:
“So to keep me from becoming conceited [about the abundance of revelation], I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.’
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Berean
None of us want to be in God’s “school of pain,” but with spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear, we become most thankful that we had that experience. When we are afflicted, we learn most about Him. God is a master at changing our perspective as we allow Him to do so. In God, endings are new beginnings, packaged in a way we don’t always recognize. The hymn “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”, is a well-known Christian song sung by many artists and worshipers through the years.
The chorus says this well:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.”
(Helen H. Lemmel)
We turn our focus, our vision, our eyes to Him in praise and worship, not to get, but to give glory and honor to Him. We desire above all to know His purpose and have His understanding in all matters. We eventually learn to pray to hear from God more than for Him to hear us. After all, God knows everything we are going to say to Him anyway. In Isaiah 58, God chastises His people about the wrong attitudes in their hearts when praying and fasting:
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.
[then they say] ‘Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?’ Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:1-3 Berean
Can you see that God is talking about prayer and fasting by His people, those of us who seek Him and delight in knowing His ways? Sinners surely do not do these things. This is His people whom He does not recognize nor respond to their prayers. Such religious efforts are far from Him and His heart of love, being full of wrong motives. God goes on to chastise them for letting everyone know that they are fasting and in intercession. This also hinders their intercession as they want to have others know what they are doing, the sacrifices they are making.
Their purpose is not to hear from God in the matter, but to be heard in order to oppress, cause contention and strife, to strike others. Their focus is on self-gain, on punishment for others’ wickedness. It’s for judgment and condemnation rather than freedom, deliverance, and healing. It is not a redeeming change they are seeking from God for others. Isaiah goes on to share what pleases God in fasting and prayer intercession:
“Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6-7 Berean
A godly fast is focused on freeing those in bondage to wickedness, breaking the bondage of others, freeing the oppressed, caring for those in need, seeing God work change for others and self in the sufferings of this world. When we see the naked, without godly righteousness to clothe them, we are to clothe them with our intercession. We are not to pray with hardened hearts while appearing holy. That is not pleasing to God.
God cares about how we pray, where our requests come from internally as we come to Him. When God chooses not to reveal His purpose to us as we pray, we may be led to intercede in tongues with “words that cannot be uttered”:
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 2:22-27 Berean
Jesus taught to pray this way:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. So then, this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours. When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your unseen Father. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6: 1-16 Berean
Jesus is teaching principles of prayer, not a repetitive formula we must use exactly every time we enter into prayer. When we pray with wrong heart motives, to be seen by others as religious and holy, the reward is from others, not from God. Yes, we may pray many a “formula prayer”, designed and shared by someone else when we don’t know yet how else to pray. We may especially search for specific prayers that others in similar circumstances have learned to pray.
All of these are helpful and are heard by our Lord, but as we grow, our prayers become conversations with God. He is compassionate when we don’t know what to pray other than “Help, God!” As we grow further, getting to know and be comfortable with God, our prayers are heart-to-heart conversations with Father God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Words are not always necessary in the most intimate relationships, where both parties are well connected and at home with each other.
We surely want an intimate relationship with Him! Our words are not the critical part to God. He already knows it all anyway and discerns our hearts when we do not.
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13 Berean
God is able to give rest to an intercessor or burden bearer despite the direness of any circumstance in life. There may be times when God makes it clear that He heard our prayers the first time, and that we don’t need to repeat our prayers over and over. During the pandemic, my mental health training business suffered along with the rest of the world’s businesses. Most of us felt helpless about many things during that time. God gave me this business, it was not my idea. I knew whether it succeeded or failed was and is in His hands but I was anxious, not at peace about it.
For the first few months without revenue and mounting debt, I prayed over and over: “God, this is Your business.” After a while, God softly spoke: “I know it is My business.” Well. Of course, He knew that, but did I, really?! If I believed that, why was I continually reminding Him of it? I felt the deep assurance I was heard by the Father. Then He gave me rest in His direction. The outcome was in His hands. Survive or fail, it was up to Him. I had found peace through surrendering the outcome.
All things are in His hands, whether we can believe that all of the time or not. He is a faithful God who preserves His calling and purpose for us, sustaining all provision when it is in His will. We pray continually for someone with whom we have agreed to intercede until we know the issue is resolved. That seems like what we should do, right? Yet God may release us from regular intercession to let us know we have been heard and it is now in His hands. Then we need not ask again.
This takes the holy spirit leading us, for sure! We even have times when we are not led to pray, even when many are praying about it. It may not be on our particular list of intercessory prayers. It certainly is unprofitable when it just feels like we should pray, as a duty, not heart-felt by the spirit. Occasionally I’ve been surprised by feeling no unction to pray about a worldly situation, perhaps because so many others are already doing so.
Evidence of change is not required as we are led by the spirit to keep praying or to stop. Some people have been praying the same prayer about someone or something for most of their lives. God has never told them to stop, as some prayers take a lifetime or beyond to be fulfilled. We are also led to know when the Lord is saying “It is enough.” These prayers are but for a time, a season, even a moment in Him.
Yes, there is intercession that requires repeatedly asking, seeking, and knocking until there is a breakthrough. This is often the case when we are doing battle with those unknown spiritual forces that rule the earth and its ways. We prefer answers that are given in just a moment, but scriptures reveal the many times saints battled while waiting for God to send His messengers, His angels, to intercede.
Here’s the point: God knows the period of time for prayer and intercession. The key for us is that prayer comes from a heart of faith in those who love Him. This brings true rest to the people of God.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV
God is the only One we can talk to about many things. Oh, the secrets God keeps for each of us! Even in consistent prayer about heavy burdens and critical matters, He is able to lead us into His rest, a rest like we have never known. We are learning that all things are in His hands.
God will keep refining and purging us, swallowing up the old with the new, including our conversations with Him, until we shine forth as pure gold. He rested from His works on the seventh day, so we are to rest as He did. What a provision He has made for us to pursue in this life and the life to come!