Do You Know God?

This Is Why You Need to Know God Better

Talking to God and Prayer – Part 3

Could it be that what you know of God might limit what you think you can and can not say to God? If you don’t know God very well how will you know what to say or how to address God? Why is it, the average person believes that addressing God doesn’t require more? If you don’t know a person well, then your conversation with that person is limited. To improve the lines of communication requires additional time interacting with the person in order for you to get to know him or her better. In the same way, talking to God is not much different. Talking to God gives you an opportunity to get to know Him. Here’s a question one might ponder, do I know God well enough to start a conversation with Him?

Do I know God well enough to talk to Him?
The 099 pray-er (average person that is) will talk to God like God owes them something. She or he thinks just because they make a request God is obligated to give them what they want. 

Heal my dog. 
Get my child out of danger or trouble.
Remove cancer from my loved one. 
Bless me. 
Pay my bills. 
You see talking to God and even prayer begins with what you know about God. Maybe this is why so many people receive only 10% answered prayers and 90% unanswered prayers. Let me say that another way. Maybe this is the reason so many are disappointed in the results they get from prayer. Could it be that we come at God all wrong?

How would one determine whether they knew God well enough to speak with Him?
Let me ask this question. Do you know God well enough to make a request of Him? What makes us think that just because we ask, He should respond to our request?  Why are we confused over who is God and who is not? What I mean by this is, why do we pray in a way that seems like God answers to us and not the other way around? Why do we think that God should just simply answer us and do what we say because we say so, ask Him to, or command Him to?

Get to know God in a new way.
I suggest that one must get to know God a little better. What you know of God makes a big difference in how you approach speaking to Him and how we make requests of Him (prayer). So then, how does one get to know God in a new way? How can I get to know God better? If I want to have a conversation with God I think that would be a prerequisite otherwise I’m limited in how I can approach God. 

Who is God (if we’re going to talk to Him)?
Who is God to you? Is he a father? Is He a friend? Is He a feared God? Is He the creator? The Healer? What is God to you? Who is God? Once you know who God is to and for you, then you will know how to address Him.

Allow me to provide a few examples of what others knew of God which totally impacted how they communicated with Him.

  • Do you know God as your boss?  Adam and Eve knew God as their boss. Can you imagine being given the Earth to be yours to manage at God’s request? Sounds to me like Adam and Eve knew God as their boss. So it’s no surprise that when they made a bad decision with what God owned that they were frightened or even stressed out to present to Him what occurred. Therefore because of how they knew God, they hid themselves from Him. [1] At their normal time to meet with God, they didn’t show up for the meeting. Knowing God in this way, how would you approach God? Knowing what you’ve done with the life He’s given you, how would you approach your boss, God? Would you be demanding of Him or would you hide in the same way Adam and Eve had? Or would you come clean before God with the mistake you’ve made and ask Him how you and He can move forward? How would you communicate with God if He signed your paycheck? This is next level prayer.

     

  • Do you know God as a companion?  Noah knew God as a companion. Noah walked in close fellowship with God. [2] Now I have to ask this question before I expound. Would you consider yourself a person who walks in close fellowship with God? Are you a companion with God? Let’s take a closer look at what it must have been like for Noah to walk in close fellowship with God. [2] What I found interesting about Noah was that He listened to God. God had someone to talk to in Noah. Can God count on you to be His listening ear? God gave Noah insight into what He had decided to do with the people He created. In other words, Noah and God had a discussion about the future of mankind. In that discussion God laid out a plan for Noah to save his family. Are you open to what God wishes to talk about? Or are you too busy trying to get your agenda items across? What would you say to God if He simply wanted you to listen to His thoughts? By the way, this is next level prayer.

     

  • Do you know God up close and personal? Moses knew God up close and personal. Moses spoke to God face to face. He had direct contact with God. Listen to this. It’s said that God called out to Moses. He called Moses name twice when He introduced Himself to Moses. [3] Have you and God had a moment of introduction. Do you remember the day that God called your name? Are you open to God introducing Himself to you? You have to admit that’s a sobering thought. I can’t imagine how Moses must have felt, but then again I can. Moses responded to God’s introduction. What do you think He said after hearing God call His name? Do you think during their first conversation Moses requested something of God? Or do you think it was God who did the requesting? If God had a plan, mission, and assignment for Moses, what do you think He has for you? I think I need to say this here… don’t allow your traditions of prayer and what you know of communicating with God to keep you from taking prayer to the next level. What would you say to God if He was up close and personal with you? This is next level prayer. 

     

  • Do you know God as a messenger? Samuel knew God as a messenger. Allow me to paint this picture. Samuel was mentored and boarded by a prophet named Eli. Samuel’s mother who prayed to have a child when she was unable to, had her prayer answered by the birth of Samuel. In response, she dedicated her son to God under the mentorship of Eli.  One night Samuel heard the voice of God. Confused by it, he assumed it was Eli his mentor. Eli explained that the voice he had heard wasn’t his, but God’s. [4] Are you hearing God’s voice but confused that it’s not? God gave Samuel foresight into what was about to happen with Eli’s family as a result of their ungodlike deeds. God gave Samuel messages to speak to others. Can God entrust you to deliver His message? Side-note: Samuel not only had a relationship with God to receive the message that he was to deliver, but he also had a relationship with those to whom the message was directed. [5] How are your relationships if you’re going to be a messenger for God? Notice the interactions Samuel had were mainly as one who delivers a message to others. Could it be that if we get busy listening for God, then the prayers we wish to offer might not even be necessary. How would you communicate with God if He asked you to deliver the bad news to the people you love? This is next level prayer.

     

  • Do you know God will use whoever He desires? Ananias knew God as one who will use whoever he desires. In our previous message we included the history of Ananias. If you recall, Ananias’ interaction with God exposed two things: 1) God will speak to the least likely and 2) God will use the least likely. In other words, God decided to have Ananias, the least likely to assist Saul, the least likely. Ananias was afraid of Paul and had no desire to assist and Saul, who would later be called Paul, was the least likely candidate to lead Christianity since he was the one trying to destroy its movement. God uses whoever He desires. That least likely person is you. In what way would you communicate with God if you felt like He chose the wrong person for the job? This is next level prayer. 

As you can see I started at the front of the Bible to give you a few ways in which people relate to God. These themes are present throughout the whole Bible and what I’ve discovered is that everyone who communicates with God knew Him in various ways. But, they knew Him. I chose only one example for each individual, but each person knew God in multiple ways. The point of this message isn’t to isolate one individual’s experience to how a person can know God but rather open your eyes to the endless ways in which you can. Once you have a relationship, then that relationship will reveal how you may approach our uncommon God.

Question: do you know God well enough to make a request of Him?

Reference #1: Genesis 3:8-13 NLT‬‬, Bible.com, accessed November 12, 2021, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.3.8-13.NLT

Reference #2: Genesis 6:9 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 12, 2021, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.6.9.NLT

Reference #3: Exodus 3:4 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 12, 2021, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/EXO.3.4.NLT

Reference #4: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 12, 2021, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/1SA.3.1-10.NLT

Reference #5: 1 Samuel 3:15-21 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 12, 2021, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/1SA.3.15-21.NLT

All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.

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