“Come and talk with me.”
If God spoke, would we listen?
We are never more ready to hear God’s Voice than when we are desperate and afraid.
Wisdom. Direction. Protection. Rescue.
All ears, we cry out to God, but do we declutter our minds and quiet our hearts to hear His response?
Psalm 27 is a rallying cry for David, who continually had to face his fears. Because David believed in who God is, he decided in advance to respond with belief and boldness.
I relate to David’s ricocheting between his faith, fear, and feelings. In the middle of David’s expressive song of confidence, he openly and sincerely cried out to God.
Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me!
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Do not turn your back on me. Do not reject your servant in anger. You have always been my helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me, O God of my salvation! (Psalm 27: 7-9, NLT)
In these verses, we see the bouncing back and forth between confidence and passionate pleas for God to show up.
Verse eight is brief but reveals another critical piece of David’s method to navigate fear. “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’” The NIV puts it this way, “My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
“Come and talk with me” and “Seek his face” are both invitations to have an intimate closeness with God.
PRAYER POSITION WHEN DEALING WITH FEAR
Receptive: “My heart has heard you say…”
David may have been vulnerable and even desperate with his entreating God, but prayer for him was a conversation.
A genuine discussion has two sides. One speaks, while the other listens. David may have had much to say, but he also practiced listening. “His heart heard” means David was open and listening for God to speak to him.
Often, God does not answer in the moment, and we need to practice listening as we go about our day with a willingness to hear when God speaks into our hearts.
Our receptivity to God’s Voice is a critical move on our part when we are fighting fear.
Receive: “Come and talk with me.”
David heard God inviting him to come and talk with Him. Most translations interpret this phrase as an invitation to seek God’s face. Seeking someone’s face represents a rapport of closeness.
Sometimes, we can treat our prayers more like a transactional business deal over a heartfelt conversation between friends. When our fears drive us to be hyper-focused on what we need from God, we miss the personal side of God. Imagine sitting down to commune with your most trusted friend to share and to listen.
The space of closeness with God, face-to-face with Him, is a precious place, like entering the Temple’s holy of holies in biblical times. Face-to-face with God, we will experience His Love melting away our fears.
The beautiful invitation David experienced of God drawing him into His Presence is available to us. Will we accept the invitation?
Respond: “My heart responded, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
David responds to God’s invitation with a 100% “Yes!”
Fear can be loud, overwhelming, and convincing. It says, “Come, sit with me, and let me tell you why you need to be afraid.”
God never leaves or forsakes us; His open invitation will always quietly draw us to Him. God’s Voice reminds us to “Seek His face.”
Our response will either engulf us in fear, causing chaos and distress, or position us in the midst of God’s peace, where we are enveloped by His calm presence.
Surrendered and listening is a powerful prayer position for observing what happens when our fears come face-to-face with the God of our salvation.
I pray you accept God’s invitation to be in His Presence, face-to-face. May you experience an intimate closeness with God so powerful that your fears can no longer survive. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: Lord, I am listening.
Reflect: What does “seeking God’s face” mean to you? Do you feel you “seek God’s face”? What does a business transactional prayer look like compared to a heartfelt conversation between friends? How can your heart be more positioned to listen?
Deeper: (As you read through these additional verses, ask the Spirit to give you wisdom, and teach you more about how you can receive His invitation to seek His face.). Psalm 27; Jeremiah 29: 13; Psalm 105: 1-5; John 10: 3-5
For more on how to hear from God – Enjoy the Hearing God series.
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(Bible References: NLT – New Living Translation, NIV – New International Version)
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