Specifically Yours,
“Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Specifically Yours,
Call – The Hebrew root qara’ has a bit more to it than simply crying out. When the Bible uses qara’, it implies a specific request of a specific person with a specific expectation for a specific answer. This is not a general shout of distress. This is about asking someone in particular for a “right-to-the-point” solution.
Now notice who is speaking in this verse. God tells us to have qara’ intentions when we come to Him. God says, “Be specific with Me. Call on Me directly. Expect Me to answer because I will.” Do you think that God is just making a general suggestion about living? “Well, if you have time and when you get around to it, ring me up for some friendly advice.” No way! God uses qara’ so that we will get the right idea: “You call directly on Me and expect Me to answer you with specific information.” Now I ask you, if God tells you to call on Him with the expectation of a specific response, and then He goes on to says, “I will answer you”, do you think He isn’t being truthful? Do you think that He is only going to answer sometimes? Do you think that He’s just being polite? That He really doesn’t want to be bothered?
If you understand qara’, then your actions should be quite specific. You should be asking God directly about very specific issues and absolutely expect that He wants to hear from you and is ready, willing and able to answer you. There is nothing mystical about this. There is no magic spiritual formula. God tells us to call. What could be simpler?
The truth is that we don’t value what God says. Oh, we say we believe it. People say what they believe, but they do what they value. We don’t call on God for every single specific thing in life because we do not value His direct and specific answers. We would rather work it out ourselves. After all, if we ask for His answer and He gives it to us, we might not like what He says. We think it is so much better to leave God out and make life fit our own desires. So we use the excuse that He’s too busy (I’m too busy) or that we don’t hear Him (I’m not listening) or that He has decided to wait before He responds (I don’t like the answer I’m getting).
Look at the calling-on-God part of your life. Really look. How do you act? Forget what you say. Examine your behavior. That will tell you what you really value. Do you value God’s promise to answer, expecting that He will, being ready to do what He says? Are you asking God as His slave or does your behavior show that you only want His advice when you think it’s needed?
