Communicating God's Way - Lesson 3 - How Should We Communicate

Survey Results

In a non scientific study I asked approximately a dozen people to rate how they communicate with others. They were asked to rate their communication on a scale of 1 to 10. With 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Here are the results after I averaged them.

6.5 with Co-Workers
6.4 with the Saved
5.9 with Spouse in actions
5.6 with Children in actions
5.4 with Employer
5.3 with Children in words
5.2 with Spouse in words
4.6 with the Lost
4.5 with Family
4.4 with God


What Does This Say?

To me it says that we communicate better with the people we work with than the Creator of our Universe. We communicate better with those people we would not normally hang out with. We communicate better with co-workers who swear and degrade women than we do with our Savior who died for our sins so we didn’t have to spend eternity in hell.


On The Brighter Side.

I guess on the brighter side we answered the questions honestly and that’s why we are in this class. We know we need to communicate better with those that matter to us. Than those we tried to witness to and laughed at us. We want to communicate to the Creator of the Universe as He intended us to. We already know where to find the answers and I pray we go to the right scriptures.

So from our survey we would all agree that we know we need to communicate with God better.


When Are We To ‘Talk To God?’

1Timothy 2:8, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

1Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

Here is how my study Bible elaborates on this verse, ‘…to denote a man suffering from an intermittent cough – one that is not continuous, but occurs at intervals. Just as this individual has the tendency to cough, though does not always do so audibly, so the believer ought to remain in the attitude of prayer though not always praying audibly.’

What does Jesus have to say about Prayer?

Luke 18:1, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

“…and not to faint,” do not loose heart. Precisely when tempted to give up, we are to be strong in our resolve to pray.

Has anyone been frustrated enough that they thought about giving up their ministry? Has anyone been frustrated enough that they said aloud, ‘That’s it, I’m not working in the Nursery any more.’ ‘That’s it, I’m not going to the Men’s Breakfast’s any more.’

Matthew 12:34, “… for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”


Let’s continue reading Jesus’ parable in verses 2 thru 8 of Luke 18.

If an unjust judge acts in this way, how much more hope may God’s children place in God? However, the issue is not God’s faithfulness. It is whether believers will persist in supplication or whether their patience will give out by the time Christ finally returns.

Luke 21:36, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Why does Jesus say we are to pray?





Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Again from my study Bible… ‘The word praying in this verse is linked to the word ‘stand’ in verse 14. Without prayer God’s armor is inadequate to achieve victory. Prayer is indispensable. Always means ‘on every occasion,’ that is, when satan attacks. In the Spirit signifies that with the Spirit’s help such prayer for divine aid is to be made. Watching thereunto means ‘being vigilant in this very matter’ of prayer. They are to pray not just for themselves but also for all saints; spiritual combat is both an individual and corporate matter.’

Can you give testimony where the Holy Spirit has guided you in prayer?





So again, this lesson is to remind us how we should communicate with God and we know that it is in prayer.

Colossians 4:2, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

‘Continue in prayer,’ persevere in prayer. ‘Watch in the same,’ be mentally alert and spiritually sensitive to the needs for which we pray. ‘With thanksgiving,’ we are to pray with gratitude when we offer up our prayers. So we are to persevere in prayer with alert minds and grateful hearts.

Can you give testimony of selfish prayer?





Autumn’s Question

Autumn called up Becky this week with a spiritual question. She asked, ‘Can we ask forgiveness of our sins before we do them?’ Becky was a little hesitant and asked Autumn to elaborate. Autumn stated, ‘If I know I’m going to listen to some music tonight that isn’t appropriate can I ask God to forgive me because I know I will do it?’

Why is it that we do not pray enough or why do we cease in prayer?





Broken Arm

This man was walking around with his left hand rigid. As if his elbow was locked in a ninety-degree angle. He was asked, “What is wrong with your arm?” He kindly responded “Nothing.”

Some time went by and then he was asked again, “Are you sure nothing is wrong with your arm?” “Nope, my arm is just fine” he said. “Has your arm always been like that?” “Nope.” At this point the new friend was very confused, “Can you elaborate?”

“A few years ago I broke it,” he finally explained. It started to make sense, but the friend was still confused, “Did you go to a Doctor?” “Nope.” “Did you have insurance?” Was the question. “Yep, I had insurance, I just never got it looked at. It hurt for a while. Then the pain went away. And now it is locked in this position.”

He went on. “I can drive just fine, I can eat just fine, and I can even dress myself. My arm isn’t hurting anyone and I am totally fine with it like this.”


What’s My Point?

That story represents a form of communication in the physical. That story would be absurd if a person really did it. When I think of that story, I think it relates to our communication with the Lord and the topic of today’s talk, ‘How should we communicate with God.’

We can sit here and say, ‘I’ve never been good about praying on a regular basis.’ We can justify our actions by saying, ‘I know I have to get better about reading my Bible, but …’

Just like the man with the broken arm, something was wrong and it needed to be taken care of, not just adapted to. If something is broken we need to get it fixed.

Will the Lord hear or prayers if we have un-confessed sins?





Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”

But, if all people sin, and God does not fellowship with—or even look upon—them, how can humans approach God—and learn how to be righteous? Is there a way for us to seek God?

Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

This is how we can approach and seek God: by humbling ourselves, forsaking our sinful ways and obeying Him!


Pastor Knickerbocker

Pastor Knickerbocker when he was hear last year for our Missions Conference stated that, ‘He believed this church was only a couple of sins away from revival. I got excited, I thought I would probably sin a couple of more times before we leave this building. I know that he meant when we confessed our sins. More specifically when we repented from our sins, turned 180 degrees away from our sin and started walking in the other direction then we would see revival at our church.

I don’t want my sin to hold this church back. I pray for the Lord to give me strength when I am weak. I also pray for the Lord to reveal to me some un-confessed sin that I may still be carrying around.

In Conclusion

The topic of today’s talk was “… with God: How should we communicate?” I believe the following verse gives us the best application.

1 John 3:21-22, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

We have confidence toward God if our lives are in line with the standard of Christian living set forth in these verses. John is not saying that whether a person is right or wrong is simply a matter of how we subjectively feel about ourselves. That is why John has given so many indicators and commands for Christians to take note of and assess ourselves by. And one of the great results of a life lived in purity before God is a life where there is effective prayer. Right living is an important part of successful praying.


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