Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Genesis 3:8-11
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What is Prayer?
It is a dialogue between man and God; two way communication where we speak to and listen from God.
What should we do about prayer?
- A believer must pray. The Bible take it as a given that a Christian prays, hence uses the word “when” not “if” you pray. You will not experience a year of open heavens in 2019 if you can’t connect with God in prayer.
- Find a place that is free of interruptions to pray – “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6 [NLT]. Shut out everything else that that would interfere, focus solely on Him.
- We should even pray while others are not present, because the dialogue is between you the individual and God.
What should we know concerning prayer?
- God places the desire to pray in your heart.
- God is the initiator of prayer. It always begins with God. Genesis 3:9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
- The devil actively works to ensure you are unable to approach His presence. Just as Adam was ashamed to be seen by God as seen in Gen 3:9-10: But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Three things that God asked Adam and Eve:
1. Where are you?
(Genesis 3:9). When God asks such a question, it’s not that He is unaware of where we are but is meant to arouse an awareness in us. It likely we are in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing and at the wrong time!
As believers, are we where we are supposed to be? The Lord plants us at a given place for a purpose, and a fruit is expected of us based on where we are placed.
2. Who told you that you are naked?
(Genesis 3:11)
Who else have you been listening to? Could you be listening from other opinions/voices that are not from God?
3. What is it you have done ?
(Genesis 3:13)
– Sin blocks our freedom in prayer with God. We often keep away from prayer because of the guilt that sin beings. If we regard sin in our hearts, the Lord will not hear our prayer.
Thankfully…
God himself takes the initiative to correct every situation.
When we have sinned, the Lord still reaches out to us because He wants the fellowship to continue. So, will you seek open heaven through prayer in 2019?