Prayerful Promises

Today's Bible Reading: JEREMIAH 32:1-33:26, EZEKIEL 26:1-14

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Here is a great invitation for intercession. It is an open hand from heaven. It is access to the Almighty, granting us entrance into His presence. It is a summons to speak to our Sovereign. The God who made and established the earth, offers us an audience. He has turned His ear toward us, He listens and He hears us. There is no need to beg or cry out for His attention, we have it. There are no hindrances and no hoops for His people to come to Him. The Almighty is available, we have His attention. He says, “Call to me.” He asks us to plead our case and put forth our petition. We hope He will hear, but now we know He will. We have His assurance.

Jeremiah was imprisoned. He was uncertain of his future. Yet in the midst of his darkness a divine offer is presented, "Call to me". The God of all creation beckons him to call upon Him, to lay before Him all his cares and concerns and to cast his burdens before Him. This same offer is given to us.

This text directs us to pray and then designates promises that are applicable to our prayer. The Lord sets forth an imperative of prayer. Calling on Him is not to be optional but obligatory. It is not to be neglected, but necessary. He pleads with us to make prayer our priority. It is to be the focus of the faithful. Whether in the deeps of despair or the heights of delights, we are to pray. In nights of heartache and days of happiness, we are to pray. When sorrow and sadness overwhelm us or joy and gladness greet us, we are to pray. Prayer is what draws us out of discouragement. It brings hope in our hopelessness. It redirects our minds toward our Master. It instills comfort in the midst our most challenging circumstances. More than anything it gives light to our darkest days and solace in our severe struggles. “Call to me”, is not just a great suggestion, but what will supply us, satisfy us, sustain us and save us when crisis comes. It is what recharges, rekindles, revives and refreshes our relationship with our redeemer. The Lord calls us to commune with Him in prayer, it behooves us to beech Him.

But also in the text are embedded promises assigned to prayer. First, we are assured that God will answer prayer. Second, we are affirmed that we will acquire knowledge through prayer. God answers all prayer. He hears us when we pray and He will respond to us. There are no unanswered prayers. This doesn’t mean that all of our requests will be granted. Some may be delayed, some discarded and others are decidedly granted on our behalf. We may not receive what we desire, but we will always receive what He desires for us. It may not be but what we think is best, but it will always be what is best for us.

We will receive an answer to our prayer and in addition to the answer we will acquire wisdom for our way. We may have attained some spiritual insight on our faith journey, but we are still ignorant and uninformed regarding much of the deep things of God. They are hidden from us. We need to know what only He can manifest. We need the omniscient to instruct us. Here God promises to disclose this hidden knowledge to all who call to Him. He vows to reveal the unrevealed and unravel the unintelligible. He pledges to bring the hidden things to light and make the foggy things become clear. All we need do is call to Him and the necessary knowledge will be made known to guide and direct our steps on our journey.

Today, call out to Him. Give prayer a pivotal place in your day. Ask Him and expect an answer and seek wisdom form Him and expect a word from Him. Listen for His answer as you look into His word. His promise is, “I will answer you” and “I will tell you”. Count on it, it will come.