If you could ask the Son of God three questions ….

If you had the opportunity right now to be in front of your Saviour, and you were promised a definite and audible answer directly from him for any three questions you have, what would they be?  What would be the most pressing questions on your mind? 

Pause reading this for a minute and just ask yourself that question, and what do you instantly come up with?  Write down your instant answers before continuing.

I don’t know that there is a “right” or “wrong” answer to this.  You’ll find there are questions that just immediately pop up. But the more you let this marinate in your mind, you’ll find other questions, deeper questions, start to surface. 

Many would express the perennial questions like “Why did you have to create – mosquitoes?”  (Or other annoyances – fire ants, poisonous snakes, any biting insects, etc).  

But then far more serious questions you’d like to ask would also bubble up – like “Why did you let my little baby die?”  and variations on that theme: 

**  “Why didn’t you heal so-and-so when so many were praying for healing?” 

**   “Why don’t you intervene more in wars that hurt and kill so many innocent people?”

**   “Why do you let horrible and evil dictators and drug lords continue in their deadly ways?”

Click on “continue reading” to examine other concepts you’ll want to be considering as you ponder this topic today.  It’s an important question – “What would you ask Yeshua (Jesus) if you had that opportunity to see him and receive his clear and audible answers today?” 

First let me say that we already have the opportunity to go to him in prayer with anything.  We may think we’re not getting audible answers, but maybe we are, but we’re just not alert enough to hear his answers.  How is that possible?

** He may be answering through unexpected sources – a friend, through circumstances, through the words of a small child, or through something you hear on the radio or TV, or through a song “playing” in your head….

The Maranatha Singers’ song “In your time” was such a song for me. It started playing in my head when I asked my Lord why was it taking so long for such-and such to happen or be answered.  An hour later, “out of the blue”, this song started playing in my head.  It was not a song I had recently played.  The words include “In your time, in  your time, you make all things beautiful in your time….. that you do just what you say, in your time.”  (They have 2 songs with the same title).

I had tears well up in my eyes, as I realized He was answering me.  His timing was something I had to relax in, trust, have peace with and… accept.  He knows best.  Even if it makes no sense to me, He knows best.  Stories of everything Joseph the son of Jacob went through, for so long, started to run through my head.  And how long Abraham and Sarah had to wait for the promised son to appear.  There were so many examples of “wait on the Lord” and relax. 

I earlier said he may answer through a small child.  I had asked my 3 year old grandson what he thought about his grandpa having recently died.  Without hesitation, he said, “Poppy, grandpa is sleeping.  You’ll see him again…”, and then he smiled and took another bite out of his breakfast.  I took that as encouragement from God, through the mouth of babes.

Remember Samuel?  He was but a boy when the word of YHVH started coming to him.  Would you have listened to Samuel?

When you get your chance before the King, and you will have your own “come to Jesus moment” I’m sure, you may be surprised when he says he DID answer your prayers – but you rejected his answers because you didn’t recognize Christ in the people who were speaking his word to you.

** The King may also answer through more “expected” sources -- like through a pastor, or through a sermon, or through a Bible verse that suddenly jumps out at you, or in your Bible studies.  How many times have you prayed about something, and then heard the answer in the sermon at church or in your own studies?  How many times have I been working on a sermon but then thoughts on a different topic would come again and again to me, until I changed to that topic. Guess what? After the sermon, sometimes I’d have someone come up and say, “I was praying about that very question last night and praying God would give me the answer – and then you gave me God’s answer, in your sermon.” 

I have given sermons and written blogs before about having a real conversation with your Maker and Father when you pray.  I have a notepad and pen when I pray.  I say things and ask questions, and then I stop, look up and say, “I’m listening Master, if there’s something you wish to say to me.”  

Sometimes – frankly – nothing comes to me.  But to my delight, sometimes I find myself writing down things like crazy; words and thoughts that aren’t mine.  No, I’m not crazy. This really happens. God has not gone silent on his children.  WE are the ones who have forgotten how to listen to his answers.  Or sometimes the answers pop in my head after prayer.  It may be a day or two or a week later.

We can miss his answers even in this time and this life because of so many reasons:

            ** Could we be spiritually asleep?  Sleeping people don’t hear what’s going on or what’s being said around them.

            ** Could we be distracted by worthless “noise” around us – too much TV, too much Facebook time, other time-occupying “busy” things around us?  Noise.  Turn OFF your TV.  Turn off the car radio. Have some more quiet times so you can hear God’s voice when he does wish to speak to you.  Remember what Elijah learned?  YHVH doesn’t always speak to us in loud booming voices like he did in Exodus 20.  Sometimes it’s in his still, small whisper.  If you have a lot of NOISE going on all the time, you’ll miss Him.  Satan saturates our minds by so much distracting noise.  For many people, the rap songs and things they listen to are pure mental poison.  They’re playing right into Satan’s hands.  Don’t you be one of them. 

            Don’t get me wrong.  Some spiritual songs are wonderful to have playing in the background from time to time. Some of their words can bring great inspiration and help us think of God and spiritual things. And yes, we certainly watch some TV news and programs too.  But generally – have more quiet times than you might right now. That improves your chances of hearing God speaking to you in his still small voice.  When I used to do presentations in my line of work in people’s homes, it amazed me how many times the TV was BLARING in the background and I had to ask people if they didn’t mind – could we turn the TV off for a while.  And they were often surprised and said “I hadn’t even noticed it was on. Sorry”.  But all those words and commercials had been blaring into their minds all that time.  Hmm. 

King David – in so many of his Psalms – speaks of communing with God in the night, or on his bed (see Psalm 63:6; 42:8; 119:147-148). Even the Son of God rose early to pray in the hills, away from the sounds, smells, events and distractions of the city. He loved going up to the mountains. Sometimes he’d pray all night (Luke 6:12).

            **  Could we be spiritually naked and so not eager to hear or respond to the knocking at our door? He is knocking at your door and would like to come in and have dinner with you and talk with you. Remember Revelation 3:20-21?           

Now the big one:  could we be so engrossed in our own carnal answers and dejection that we’re not hearing the spiritual answers he IS putting out there for us? 

Here’s the warning:  Those whose minds are “of the flesh” are not in tune with, or even interested in, the things of the spirit.

Romans 8:5-8  -- “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

It goes on to say – but you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if the spirit of God is active in you! So let’s have our minds on the things of the Spirit, and hopefully when we meet with the Saviour, we’ll have the spiritual depths of our heart being poured out to him.  Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, after all.

Now, what would your questions have been?  Did they represent thoughts coming out of the Spirit and a spiritual focus – or were they thoughts coming from the flesh or even from a carnal or unspiritual focus? 

So start asking those questions you have in prayer and ask for an answer.  You’ll get the answers – but do be ready for them.  And then you’ll be more likely to hear his voice, know what he wants for you and it’s a wonderful experience.  He speaks often.  Tune into Him.  You’ll hear him and you’ll hear his answers. 

Let me know how this works for you.

Now – some of you may wish to get more involved in serving our Master.  I’m looking for people to volunteer to translate these blogs into your home language and to spread them around to people around you.  Would you do that for us in your town?  You might find that they’ll be asking for more from you – in your native tongue – so be ready to help serve in this way.  Please don’t change what I’ve written. Just translate and pass your translation around and point people to Christ and their heavenly Father through this website 

            www.LightontheRock.org  

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