Does God Check His Voicemail?
Carl here. I grew up in a Lutheran world where prayer was pretty much practiced as leaving a message on voicemail for God to check later: you pray, you’re pretty sure someone is listening up there, and you go about your business.
Easy, right?
Obviously, God must have had a lot of unheard messages on His voicemail, because all around me, nobody seemed to be listening for a reply to their prayers.
That would be much harder. That kind of prayer life would require responsibility on my part. Far too easy to just give God a call and leave Him a prayer message.
When I became a true follower of Jesus, I began to realize that not only was He listening to me, He was responding!
Responding in love!
Love Speaks (that is a catchy title for a book, right)?
Many Christians believe they have never once confidently heard a reply from the Lord after they left Him a prayer voicemail. And why is that? According to Scripture, there could be multiple reasons. Here are just 3, along with possible solutions:
-
Sin BLOCKS the communication lines. “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
The answer: repent! I actually practice a daily repentance for my sins. Repentance to the Father, in Jesus’ name, brings you into intimate fellowship with Him, and positions you to hear in fresh ways from the Word and the Spirit.
-
We don’t EXPECT Him to answer. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
The answer: start believing that not only will God hear you, He has wonderful plans ahead, and He is planning on prospering you!
-
Maybe He’s being QUIET: “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior, He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).
The answer: learn to listen to His quiet love all around you, and be secure in this stillness!
So does God check His voicemail?
The answer is NO: He doesn’t even have a mobile phone!
What’s way better than all the instant communication, mobile phones, and the personal assistant of Siri (for all you iPhone users..)?
I mean, seriously, what can be better than Google or Siri on the information highway?
How about:
GOD IS ALWAYS PREVIOUS.
Meaning: He is Providential; He is Omniscient; He is Omnipresent; He is ALMIGHTY!
Memorize this verse and remember it the next time you go to prayer and are thinking of leaving a voicemail:
“It will also come to pass that BEFORE THEY CALL, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I WILL HEAR” (Isaiah 65:24).
***To learn more about this fascinating subject of hearing the multi-faceted voice of God, check out my new book, “LOVE SPEAKS: 21 Ways to Recognize God’s Multi-Faceted Voice.”
More info on our Official Love Speaks Website
