1. Why Read the Bible

"Well then, what about reading the Bible?" Reading the Bible serves its purpose. I remember being on a job site when a man walked up to me. I always say good morning, so I said, "Good morning." He answered, "What's up, though?" I said, "Okay — good morning," and kept walking. He had assumed that because of who I was, he could not simply say "morning" to me; he had to say "what's up, though." I wasn't offended, because he only made himself look foolish.

That is what studying the Bible is for. You study so that you know enough about God that when you interact with Him you do not look thick-headed, thinking you know how to pray while praying disrespectful things — praying things that do not draw God closer to you. You may even get the prayer answered, but you are no closer to Him; if anything you are further away.

You need to read the Bible so you can learn how God interacts with people: what He says, what He wants, who has gotten close to Him and how, and how reality works. Then when you talk to Him and pray to Him, you can speak in a way that actually brings you closer. That is why reading the Bible is so important.

And remember: the Bible is written in a way that discourages people who are wise and proud. Its purpose is to teach you how to have a two-way communication with God.

2. Stay Until He Answers

You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but that alone does not guarantee you will make it. Many people were anointed. Scripture says Satan was the anointed cherub; he had the Holy Spirit. Saul had the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is an earnest — a down payment. It means God gives you up front a portion of what eternity is. It does not mean it cannot be lost. You still have to have the relationship.

We read books on how to hear from God, how to hear His voice. Throw them all away. God talks to everyone in a unique way. It cannot be taught and cannot be described, and the enemy cannot duplicate it, because he does not know how God talks to you. Knowing how God talks to you takes one thing: you communicating with Him and believing that He is going to respond.

He ignored a woman once, and she was persistent, and He rewarded her because of her faith. When He taught His disciples to pray, He told of a judge who would not grant a woman's request, but she kept on until he granted it, and He said: won't God grant your prayer in the same way if you show that persistence, though He bear long with you? Then He said something that seems disconnected but is exactly connected: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith?" In other words, if you keep seeking God, He may ignore you simply to test whether you have faith. Because if you talk to Him and He is silent, you should not go off and handle it on your own. You should seek His face to find out why He is not responding.

I once ordered a taxi and heard nothing back. It took forever, so I ordered another one, got picked up, and left. Then the bar called: the first driver was there, furious, cursing me. I had assumed he wasn't coming because I got no feedback. That was rude and wrong of me. We have to treat God better than that. You do not only treat others well; you treat God well, because He is a Person. You are not a good person merely because you treat other people right. You have to treat the Creator right.

So when I contact God and He does not respond, the goal is to know that God heard me. I do not have to say it over and over; I have to have faith. God heard me; He is God. Do not take His name in vain by thinking He cannot hear you. It is not that you must learn how to talk to Him, as if God sat on the throne waiting for someone to pick up a book and learn His voice so He could finally have someone to talk to. No. He spoke to Pharaoh, who worshiped devils. He spoke to a donkey. He speaks to the waters and the wind. If He can talk to a donkey and to unbelievers, trust me, He can talk to you. He made your ear; He made your brain. He knows how to talk to you. You just need to not give up when He does not respond.

Picture it. He is on the throne, and you say, "Dear God, I don't know what to do, I need Your help with this situation." He waits. You say, "Amen," get up, and go looking for someone else to help you and for your own solution. You never developed the relationship. You never waited for His response. You prayed and then went looking for help elsewhere and never came back to Him. People do this and think it is normal. Why pray at all if you do not believe the One you are praying to hears you or will do anything? If you know He is real, and God, and Almighty, then when He does not respond you will keep seeking Him and seeking His face. That is why He says, "Seek My face."

When I do that, and keep seeking Him, I know God hears me. I know He can help me. I know He is in control. If He is upset with me, I know He can help me get back into His good graces. So I keep seeking Him over this; I do not need help outside of God in this situation. Then you begin to get a response. If you do not understand the response, seek Him over that, and He can teach you how He is talking to you and train you. Over the years God has been teaching me how He speaks to me, to the point that now, if I am praying and have not gotten a response, I am not done praying.

You cannot say, "I talked to Sheila about that." "Well, what did she say?" "I don't know." "Then you didn't talk to her about it." "I did — she didn't say anything bad." "Did you wait around for a response?" "No." Then you did not talk to her. You have not talked to someone until you have had a two-way conversation. Your prayer is not you talking at God, throwing up some words and going about your business. Your prayer is you talking and staying with God until you have His response about the situation. Then you are done praying.

That is how you build the relationship. As long as you are trying, and you have that relationship, you will know God and the Lord Jesus Christ — and the Lord Jesus Christ said that is salvation. Keep that up to the end and you shall be saved.