Getting God's Attention
Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 18:25-39
The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29
If you trust any god but the Lord, you can pray all day, you can dance around in worship, you can even make yourself bleed, but God will not answer your requests. You are crying out to the wrong god. But if you pray to the true God and also persist in pride and sin, your prayers are a waste of breath. God says, "When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen" (Isaiah 1:15).
Christians do not pray to just any god. They pray to the Father of the Lord Jesus. And he listens! The master of the universe pays careful attention to tiny humans who speak to him in faith. Jesus gives his followers unlimited access to God by removing the barrier of sin between them and God.
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
When God's people talk, he responds. Elijah did not need wild rituals, fancy words, or vivid mental images to get God's attention. He prayed a simple prayer to the one true God. Elijah spoke from a heart dedicated to God, and God responded in surprising ways.
God pays attention to us too when we approach him in Jesus' name.
Thank you, Lord, for listening to me. Keep me from sins that might hinder my prayers. Thank you, Jesus, for providing free access for us to come near to God. In your name, Amen.
About the author — David Feddes
Dr. David Feddes is pastor of Family of Faith Church and provost of Christian Leaders Institute, which supports mentor-based ministry training through online courses. David is also adjunct missiologist for Crossroad Bible Institute, which provides biblical distance education to more than 40,000 people in prison. Previously he served as broadcast minister for the Back to God radio program, reaching people in more than fifty countries. David earned his Ph.D. in intercultural studies from Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL. He and his wife, Wendy, have nine children (one in heaven).
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