Sometimes, as believers, we go through seasons of drought. These seasons make it feel as though we are far from God. We may even question if we can still hear from God and the answer is yes. God’s word is true when it says, “My sheep hear my voice, and a stranger they will not follow.” We may have to become more intentional in blocking out the noise to hear from God.
Remember God’s word says the kingdom of heaven suffers violence but the violent take it by force. I believe this means those in the kingdom will experience opposition, but we have to assert our offenses against the opposition. Setting ourselves to seek the Lord is one way to do that overcoming the spiritual warfare that has been aimed against us.
Below are some steps to take to do just that. We’ll want to get a journal, a Bible, remove distractions, listen, pray, and write down what God is sharing with us.
Get a journal
In seeking the Lord—you’ll need to document what the Lord is saying to you. This is important as it helps you to meditate on what God has said. When I say meditate on what God has said, I do not mean meditation as the world discusses in Eastern religion.
I mean to think again and again about what God has said. You’ll need to remember what God has said as a way to wage war against the opposition coming at you. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4-6.)
Whatever strongholds which are thoughts that are set up in your mind that aren’t healthy and are difficult to rid yourself of—God’s word will act as a solvent to heal you from those things as you begin to meditate on God’s word and speak it over yourself out of your mouth.
Remember Joshual 1:8-9 shows us how to be prosperous and have good success:
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:8-9
Writing what God gives us in prayer will also remind us that God is with us. Finally, we can use what God showed us in prayer as a launching pad to begin praying the next day. You’ll often find that God addresses you right where you are. This means God can speak to you specifically about what’s going on in your life at this moment. He often does this through his word which is why you’ll need your Bible.
Reading Your Bible while Seeking the Lord
God often uses his word to speak to us. He also uses his word to wash away things that are unhealthy or harmful to us such as fear. Remember God’s word that reminds us that we are washed by the washing of the water of God’s word. This means God’s word has a way of addressing our issues so that it’s no longer an issue for us.
Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. – Ephesians 5:25-26
Those of us who believe in Christ—are considered the bride of Christ collectively. Just like God is commanding men to love their wives like Christ the church—he is reminding us that he—similarly, loves us his bride. And what he does is wash us with his word. When God does this—it makes us whole, confident, secure, and okay.
Do you remember when Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord over the fear he had for his brother Esau? His brother Esau in Genesis 32 was approaching him with 400 men. In their last encounter with each other—Esau had promised to kill his brother. He was therefore afraid.
Guess how God calmed that fear in Jacob—he spoke his word over him. He said your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel. Israel means God prevails. Jacob was able to prevail against his fearful circumstances through the settling that came with God speaking his word over him.
Remove Distractions while seeking the Lord
One way to remove distractions is to make a commitment to fast while praying and seeking the Lord. Fasting increases our sensitivity to God. It puts us in a place of making hearing from God more important than the comfort of food for the time being. During a fast, we limit or eliminate social media.
We want to get rid of the voices that aren’t coming from God himself. We limit television as well. This doesn’t mean we don’t watch television—if we do watch—it will be on more rare occasions. We’ll be spending most of our time outside of work reading God’s word, praying, and journaling. I have articles on what fasting looks like. When you fast, you want to choose something you can be consistent at. Pray to God and ask him to help you choose a fast.
Listening is important in seeking the Lord
Now that the distractions are removed—you should be able to begin to hear God more easily. Remember God often speaks according to his word, the Bible. He uses the Holy Spirit to do so. One of the Holy Spirit’s functions is to remind us of all truth.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. – John 14:26
I bolded, “I have said to you” as it is significant of God’s word. The Holy Spirit will remind us of God’s word on a matter that concerns us. We should be casting our cares on God in prayer because he cares for us. In doing so within prayer, God may have the Holy Spirit who is the 3rd part of the God-head, to speak to us something that will jog our memory about God’s word. I am on a fast now, also called a consecration.
I was in prayer and a portion of scripture came to my mind in Romans 8. It spoke to a fear I was dealing with relating to being alone. I typed in Google the portion of the scripture and it was about how God has not left us but is interceding for us. This meant to me that God is in it with us. I’m not by myself.
Another scripture, during another prayer time—reminded me of Jacob who had faced fear regarding his brother. I meditated on that and wrote about it in my journal. I saw myself in how Jacob reacted to try to protect himself.
He remembered God’s promise to him and began to pray about it and that’s when he began to wrestle with God. And through God, he prevailed. I used that as a launching pad in prayer the next day. I began to pray over myself that I would prevail through Christ over the current fear that I was working through.
God is very intelligent and involved in our personal lives. We aren’t by ourselves. Finally, prayer is a huge part of seeking the Lord We cannot pray to God unless we have faith. Our prayer toward God is a sign of our faith in him.
But without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Hebrews 11:6
When we come to God in prayer we should come with an expectation. We should expect God to meet us during our prayer time. We don’t always feel close to God in prayer, but we should know that he always hears us. God’s word says his ears are open unto the cries of the righteous.
Satan will try to attack us and make us think God no longer hears our prayers. He will try to make us believe—because we’ve been through difficulty God has left us. I say to this—pray anyway. Keep coming to God in prayer. If you have followed the above in removing the distractions and such—it will become easier for you to sense God’s leading and God’s nudging in prayer.
Use God’s word to pray it over yourself and your family. Call those things that are not as though they were. This means, that just because something looks bad doesn’t mean it is bad. Pray that God is working all things together for your good.
Remember God’s promise that what you pray in secret will be rewarded openly. Remember that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Your prayers are necessary and powerful. I’d gone through a season where I was beaten down by life and felt as though my prayers were powerless, but I kept on coming to God. I am gaining my strength back in prayer.
Remember to write down in your journal what God shows you in prayer. Prayer is your open channel to God to hear what heaven’s will is concerning you and your family. You have the authority to declare what God is showing you in prayer until you overcome as Jacob did in Genesis 32. Remember Jacob prayed the promises of God over himself until it came to pass.
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