ACCESSING THE VOICE OF GOD IN DESPERATE TIMES
Daniel 2:13–28
There are days when situations put us in a place where we seemingly need divine direction desperately like a matter of life or death. Situations where a wrong choice might cost us everything and there seems to be pressure to make a choice almost immediately. Seasons where the only way out is the sovereign voice of God.
In those moments is a yearning, deep in our hearts for the voice of the all-knowing God. We know where the answers lie but we can’t seem to navigate through the boundaries of our souls to our spirits where the light of God is shining. Our souls are cumbered and overwhelmed with all the symptoms of fright, flight and fear and our mind hanging in the turmoil of despair.
I woke up on a Saturday morning in 2013, took my bible and diary and headed for a sacred place in the bush where most people went to pray in my school at the time. I was in the university but the barricade of darkness on my family’s finance infringed on my well-being for more than a year. We prayed and fasted as individuals and as a family, yet the siege continued. We had come to a point where if God doesn’t show up everything will be lost. It was an emergency, I needed to hear God desperately, I needed an urgent turnaround. Something happened as the sun sunk in the West as I prayed in the bush. As I study through Daniel 2:13–28 and bring to remembrance my story I have discovered a wisdom to accessing the voice of God in desperate times.
I want to share this secret with you and as you incline your heart to this wisdom I pray you find answers.
Separation
Separate yourself from the immediate environment that instigates or puts you in a place of worry. Daniel 2:17. This kind of separation is basically physical. You might need to leave your house or travel out. The point is just go to a place where you can really be alone and far from distractions.
Entrance of thanksgiving
As you set out to seek the face of God, bring to remembrance the times he came through for you and give him sincere thanks. It is your first pass through the gates of His presence. Psalms 100:4, Philippians 4:6
Ascension by Adoration
I know you desperately need answers but your need doesn’t set aside the protocol of approach Psalms 100:4. Daniel 2:20. I believe Daniel began with the same posture and words of adoration he used after the secret was revealed to him in his dream. Acts 4:24 confirmed this as we see what the disciples did. The bible said ‘’they raised their voice in one accord and said, Lord thou art God’’. It is by adoration we ascend to the place where our souls lose consciousness of our immediate surrounding and life situations and become conscious of God. This is the second kind of separation. You can’t access the voice of God if your soul is cumbered with worry and anxiety and so you need to ascend by adoration. In adoration God is enlarged in our heart and our fears, troubles and confusion diminished. You can spend your whole day doing this and in the midst of your adoration the voice of God breaks through and you can’t deny you heard Him.
You must be wondering what happened to me in the story I shared toward the evening time as the sun sunk to the west. As i spoke in tongues my eyes were opened and like it was in Habakuk 2:1 I saw what God was saying and without an ounce of unbelief I knew it was God. After I heard the voice of God in that vision I gave thanks to God, took my stuffs and left the bush to my room. I knew God had spoken and what remained was for me to sit back and watch things turnaround no matter the resistance of hell.
Supplication
The prayer for direction and accessing the voice of God in a desperate situation is the prayer of mercy. It is not a time to bind and cast or speak to the constellation. It is the time to beckon on the hand of mercy. Daniel 2:18. The Prayer is simple ‘‘Father of Mercies, have mercy on me’’. I feel like using a simile of me looking at you the way you might be looking at me if you heard me say this words to you directly. If it’s the voice of God you desperately seek, keep your prayer manual aside and if you must say a prayer aside adoration then it must be the prayer of mercy. Beloved, the prayer of mercy is not just for a destitute sinner but a sure card for a man who acknowledges his inadequacies and sincerely seeks help from the one who is able. Wise men of old knew when to put on sac cloths and reach for the hand of mercy.
Find your company
The power of an accurate company has been largely underestimated in our time. So many young people claiming to be lone rangers and forsaking the sweetness of cooperate life and the fresh dew of togetherness. In times when we need divine direction we need to find our company. Men and women with whom we have a track record of fellowshipping, ministering to the Lord and accessing the voice of God together in times past or local church where there is accurate fellowship. Just like Daniel the Apostles in Acts4:23 fell back to their own company when they were threatened and asked to make a choice between speaking about Jesus or keeping their life’s. Never underestimate the power of an accurate company of believers. In the company of sincere believers the voice of God is guaranteed.
For me, some days after my experience in the bush I got together with two of my friends and we began to worship God in the Spirit as our custom was. After we were done praying, one of my friends gave me a word from God to me he received while we prayed together. You know what ? it was a 100% confirmation of what I received alone some days back in the bush. The bible says God hath spoken once; and twice have I heard psalms 62:11, and in 2 Corinthians 13:1 that in the mouth of two three witnesses shall every word be established. Please Note that finding your company can precede separation like the Apostle in the book of Acts and Daniel.
Faith
This is the ultimate rule that precedes answers. Hebrews 11:4 says ‘’he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him’’. Our approach should not be an attempt to try God but in absolute believe and trust that in Him and with Him lies the answer we need and seek. Don’t beat yourself wondering how real faith is born. It’s quite simple. When you meditate on Gods ability faith is conceived. Take your eyes away from your situation and fix it on his almightiness, then faith will rise in your heart. When you see Gods ability, God sees your faith.
Final words
I write this article because many have lost their faith, many lives destroyed and many living in eternal regrets because of the inability to hear God in the day when it really matters.
As you read through this article I pray you find his voice in your darkest moments, His peace in your scariest storm and His mercy when your strength fail you.
