Listening in Prayer
Listening in Prayer
(Drawing nigh to God)
David Wilkerson
We missed the purpose of drawing near to God
if we do all the talking and no listening.
We want to live in His presence edified.
We want to empty our souls so that all our burdens we leave them.
Bring your burdens to the Lord, leave them there.
Yes, that’s all scriptural.
We want to shower Him with praises.
But we go into His courts and we talk and talk and talk.
That’s not fellowship unless you give Him the privilege and honor to unburden His heart to you.
unless you allow Him to speak to your heart.
He is wanting to give you the direction.
He wants to give you answers to the things that are plaguing your heart. He wants to speak His mind to you.
How many of us go into the house of prayer, go into the secrete closet?
You can spend hours worshipping Him and you can come out feeling great.
It’s marvellous. It’s healing.
But, folks, you’re just treading the court if you don’t give Him time, if you will not listen to Him
because it’s been the scriptural pattern all through the Bible.
God’s purpose in having you drawing nigh to Him is that He can draw nigh to you to govern you, to speak to you,
to answer every question you have, every one of them,
how to overcome sin and the steps you need to take to break the chains and bondage of sin.
He wants to speak about your marriage.
He wants to speak about your ministry.
He wants to speak to you about all of things.
But we don’t tarry in His presence until He speaks.
We’re running with our praises.
We’re running and make our petitions known.
“Thank you, Jesus. I believe You. I will Go.”
Back to our own interests.
Why do you want the Lord to draw nigh to you, first of all to govern you?
You say, “Lord, I want to be totally submissive to You.
I want Your mind, I want Your presence in my life,
but I want You to speak to me.”
“You come into My presence. You worship Me.
You draw nigh to Me, but I will draw nigh to you if you stay.”
And that’s what happen when we come into the courts of the Lord.
People come in, make their petition.
They pray, offer the incense.
And then walk around a little bit and they walk out.
I believe this with all my heart when He says,
“Come into My courts with praise.”
He waits until all the tourists are gone.
He waits until all the treaders’ve left and gone their way
And He waits for those who say, “I’m not leaving this court until I have a word. I’m desperate to hear from God. And I’m not leaving His presence.”
And I believe the Lord waits for that holy remnant that wants to know Him and know His voice so clearly.
And you can’t know it until you spend time waiting quietly, patiently with faith, absolute faith
because He said, “Without faith you can’t please Him” (Hebrews 11:6).”
Come in.
Praise all you want.
Worship all you want.
Ask Him all you want.
But without faith you can’t please Him.
He can’t accept sacrifice without faith.
He waits till all the treaders gone out of His court.
Then He says, “Draw near to Me now. Let Me come near to You.”
Some people wait fifteen minutes.
“He hasn’t said a word. This doesn’t work.”
No. Patiently as long as it takes.
The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, (this is speaking of Christ),
that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary:
he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:
I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
For the Lord GOD will help me (that’s the faith); therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
Isaiah 50:4-7
That’s Jesus.
They’re speaking of Christ.
The Lord is saying,
“Everyday He wakes up My ear. He gives Me a sensitive ear.”
And if He didn’t speak to you last night when you waited on Him, if you believed God with all of your heart, He will wake you up with a word. If you get up, a word will be there. He will wake up your ear.
Jesus, “Every morning, He wakes up My ear.
He makes Me sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.”
He will do that as a step of faith we’ve got to take and believe that with all of our heart.
For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: … (Isaiash 50:7)
He will not leave you in confusion and He will never put you in shame (Isaiah 50:7)
You came to church this morning with confusion in your life.
Being confused about things that happened in your life, things that are going on in your life.
The Lord’s made it clear to me that He wants to clear up that confusion.
That confusion is often caused by neglecting drawing near to the Lord, neglecting His call to you.
He keeps calling.
He says, “If you come to My presence, I’m gonna satisfy.
I will not leave you in confusion. You will not be confounded.
You won’t be confounded. You won’t be ashamed.”
But there’s some confusion.
The Lord wants to heal that.
Now listen very closely.
Whenever you are in a hard place, whenever you are in a situation where you can’t figure things out and where there is a confusion
The Holy Spirit has always spoken to my heart.
“Always focus on Jesus.”
When you come to the Father, He’s gonna have you focus on Jesus.
The Holy Spirit came to focus on Jesus, to bring us to Christ.
Whenever there is a problem, whenever there is a confusion just bring Jesus on the scene.
In your heart and in your mind focus on Jesus begin to worship Jesus, begin to love Jesus, begin to praise Jesus, begin to talk to Jesus heart to heart.
And always when you bring Jesus to the forefront the devil has to flee by faith.
That pleases the Heavenly Father.
That’s the ground upon which the Holy Ghost can work,
which you’re willing to have the Holy Spirit magnify Christ in your life
This is all about Jesus.
This is not really about you and me.
It’s about Him having provided everything we need and our coming to receive it by faith.
You’ve got to deal with that now.
There is nothing that I face,
there is no confusion in my life that He can’t straighten up if I get along Him,
spend time and let Him speak to my heart.
He will give you direction.