God Wants to Talk to You
If fasting has any benefit, it is that we are weaning ourselves from dependence upon something earthly so that we can find greater attraction for the things of God. It is also opening our hearts and minds so that God can speak to us and we can hear clearly what He is saying.
Isn’t that what we all really desire? Wouldn’t you like to hear the still small voice of God speak life into your spirit in a new and fresh way? Wouldn’t you love for the words of scripture to take on a whole new level of vitality as you read them? Wouldn’t you be so blessed to hear a word from the Holy Spirit about your family, your future or your life’s situation? I believe with all my heart that our ability to hear the voice of God is directly related to our willingness to listen and seek Him. One of the great blessings of seeking the Lord as we are here in January through fasting and prayer, is that it quiets our souls so that we can hear God’s voice more clearly.
This morning as I was reading and praying, I read a small but powerful verse in Psalm 35. It reminded me of my need to hear the voice of God in my life every day.
v.3b Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
David was in a common place in this Psalm. He is begging God to protect him from his enemies and to work on his behalf against them. He starts the Psalm by asking the Lord to fight for him. But just a couple verses into this imprecatory Psalm, he slips in this 2 phrase request to God that speaks powerfully to us this morning.
He says, “God in the midst of all the battles in my life. While I am wondering and uncertain about how this is going to go. While I am waiting on you to show up in a tangible way, would you in this moment, Father, speak to my soul?” Even if he was not yet seeing the deliverance of God, David needed to hear the voice of God.
One writer said it this way, “So trying were the circumstances, so poignant the pain, that he was at least in danger of losing his assurance in God. Hence the plea that God would give him the inward sense of certainty: ‘Say unto my soul – I am thy salvation.’ It was a request for the renewing or strengthening of the inner communion with God, which is ever the secret of strength in days of turmoil and sorrow.” (Morgan)
This verse speaks to the reality that David was not only on the brink of losing the battle literally, but he was near to losing the assurance that God was with him. He needed to hear from God.
You and I have a great blessing. We have been given the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised would lead, teach us, and empower us for service. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit has the work of providing assurance to believers when he says, he will “bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God”.
During these days of seeking the Lord, let us pray what David prayed. Let us ask the Lord to speak to our soul in a new way. Ask Him to open the Word to our mind and heart in fresh ways. As we lay aside some other thing, be it food, coffee, technology or something else, we are turning down the volume on self and the world so that the voice of God may be heard more clearly in our hearts!
Pastor Troy Keaton
Isn’t that what we all really desire? Wouldn’t you like to hear the still small voice of God speak life into your spirit in a new and fresh way? Wouldn’t you love for the words of scripture to take on a whole new level of vitality as you read them? Wouldn’t you be so blessed to hear a word from the Holy Spirit about your family, your future or your life’s situation? I believe with all my heart that our ability to hear the voice of God is directly related to our willingness to listen and seek Him. One of the great blessings of seeking the Lord as we are here in January through fasting and prayer, is that it quiets our souls so that we can hear God’s voice more clearly.
This morning as I was reading and praying, I read a small but powerful verse in Psalm 35. It reminded me of my need to hear the voice of God in my life every day.
v.3b Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
David was in a common place in this Psalm. He is begging God to protect him from his enemies and to work on his behalf against them. He starts the Psalm by asking the Lord to fight for him. But just a couple verses into this imprecatory Psalm, he slips in this 2 phrase request to God that speaks powerfully to us this morning.
He says, “God in the midst of all the battles in my life. While I am wondering and uncertain about how this is going to go. While I am waiting on you to show up in a tangible way, would you in this moment, Father, speak to my soul?” Even if he was not yet seeing the deliverance of God, David needed to hear the voice of God.
One writer said it this way, “So trying were the circumstances, so poignant the pain, that he was at least in danger of losing his assurance in God. Hence the plea that God would give him the inward sense of certainty: ‘Say unto my soul – I am thy salvation.’ It was a request for the renewing or strengthening of the inner communion with God, which is ever the secret of strength in days of turmoil and sorrow.” (Morgan)
This verse speaks to the reality that David was not only on the brink of losing the battle literally, but he was near to losing the assurance that God was with him. He needed to hear from God.
You and I have a great blessing. We have been given the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised would lead, teach us, and empower us for service. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit has the work of providing assurance to believers when he says, he will “bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God”.
During these days of seeking the Lord, let us pray what David prayed. Let us ask the Lord to speak to our soul in a new way. Ask Him to open the Word to our mind and heart in fresh ways. As we lay aside some other thing, be it food, coffee, technology or something else, we are turning down the volume on self and the world so that the voice of God may be heard more clearly in our hearts!
Pastor Troy Keaton
Pastor Troy Keaton is the senior pastor of East Lake Community Church in Smith Mountain Lake Virginia. Pastor Troy founded East Lake in 2005 and today it is a thriving church reaching thousands for Jesus to the glory of His name.
I met Pastor Troy personally on a connecting flight to a pastor’s conference in Canada. We’ve been friends ever since. He and I are both part of the 64fellowship, which is a ministry that serves pastors around the globe. Pastor Troy and his wife Janel, have four children, Natalie, Allyson, TJ, and Trever. Troy’s wife Janel has been battling metastatic breast cancer for the past 3 years and is currently in hospice care. Despite this difficult battle, the grace of God has been upon her life and she continues to share the eternal hope that is found in Christ alone. You can read more of her story here.
As we continue in our 21 days of prayer and fasting with an emphasis on church leaders, please remember Pastor Troy, Janel, children, and their church family in prayer. As I was preparing my heart for Sunday’s service, and to preach a message about hearing the voice and God so that we can be a voice for God, I read Pastor Troy’s latest devotional which happened to be on the same topic. It blessed my heart and I trust it will be a help and an encouragement to you.
-Pastor Marco