by Yvonne Allen
In the days when Abraham and Lot lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, God grew tired of Sodom’s willful iniquity, and He was ready to wipe them off the map. Scripture records that Abraham came near to God and asked, “Would you destroy the righteous along with the wicked? What if fifty righteous men were in the city—would you spare it then?”
“Okay, if I find fifty, I will spare the city,” God answered.
Unsure there were actually fifty righteous men left, Abraham pressed, “how about if you find forty-five?”
“… or forty?”
“Okay, for forty, I’ll spare the city.”
“Excellent—I knew You were fair! … but God, let’s say
there were just thirty?”
“Okay, for thirty then,” God answered.
“You are awesome; I always knew that …” and Abraham kept pressing until, “Suppose I could
find ten?”
“I will not destroy it for the sake of ten,” God resolved, and went His way after speaking with
Abraham.
Let’s look at another conversation—
As Moses came down the mountain with the stone tablets still warm from God’s engraving,
something unexpected happened; he heard the Children of Israel, but the sounds were not
holy—something was not right. God shared His anger with Moses, how it burned against the
Israelites as they disgraced themselves before Him, worshipping the golden calf. God said,
“What a stubborn people—leave Me alone, Moses, so My wrath can burn hot against them. I
will consume them and make you a great nation!”
“Lord, wait,” Moses responded, “these are Your people—not mine! You brought them out of
Egypt with Your mighty hand. It wouldn’t do any good to give the Egyptians the satisfaction of
saying, ‘You brought them out here just to kill them and wipe them out,’ would it? Turn away
Your wrath. Relent. You swore to multiply Abraham, Isaac, and Israel’s descendants—You
swore by Yourself! Remember?”
God changed His mind. He spared Israel. His anger towards them cooled.
Hezekiah, Mary the mother of Jesus and a few others have also engaged in dialogue with God, that changed outcomes. In these stories, we see God allowed them to participate in what would be done on the earth. God wasn’t put off or annoyed by these men speaking with Him. It wasn’t forbidden for them to make their requests known—even after knowing God’s mind on the subject! God was even okay with the men negotiating to ask Him for more than they had thought to ask for in the first place.
You see, God isn’t a dictator. He is a loving Father. He is a friend who sticks closer than a
brother. The Church is His Bride—beloved and adored. God enjoys conversation with us, not
sending down a monologue for us to follow like a recipe of ingredients and instructions to
perform His will.
What happens in heaven is non-negotiable—and thank God for this! God is sovereign and
supreme. He is in control, and His very thoughts are the reality of heaven.
Here on earth, though God remains sovereign, He has chosen to give us dominion. His
sovereignty determined that we should have and exercise authority here in the earthly realm.
In that, we are active partners in what happens in our lives.
In our homes, with our families.
In our communities, cities, state, and nation.
How we talk with God completely depends on how we think about God and our relationship
with Him. I converse differently with my husband than with a man I barely know. The depth of
my conversation with my children is different than with random strangers I encounter.
So, let me ask you, what was the last thing you heard the Father say to you? Did you stop there,
or did you respond? Did you tarry with Him and engage in a dialogue or just receive the word
from Him and move on? Did you agree with Him or disagree?
You have been given the mind of Christ. Your responsibility is to renew that mind daily with the washing of the water of the Word. As you do, you grow in maturity, and Father God wants a relationship with you—a fellowship—not a robotic response or puppet process. God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe, is interested in your thoughts; He enjoys hearing what you have to say to Him. He delights in holding a two-way conversation with you. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at Isaiah 1:18:
“Come now, and let us reason together ...” KJV
“Come now, and let us debate your case …” NASB
“Come now, let us settle the matter …” NIV
“Come, let’s talk this over …” TLB
“Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out …” MSG
“I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this …” ERV
“Come on now, let’s walk and talk; let’s work this out …” VOICE
When God speaks to you, ask Him questions. Gain clarity. Respond with your genuine thoughts and emotions. This pleases Him greatly. Answer His invitation to you when He says, “Let’s talk!”
Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash
© 2022 Yvonne Allen. All Rights Reserved.