Lesson 20: Seeking God’s Companionship

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken” Ecclesiastes 4:12.

Some years ago, a doctor asked an elderly Christian woman in England, "If I asked God for five pounds, would I get it?"
The old woman answered with a question. "If you were introduced to the Prince of Wales, would you ask him for money at once?"
"No, not till I knew him better," replied the doctor.
"Well," remarked the woman, "you will need to know God a great deal better before you can expect Him to answer your prayer."

Someone commented on this incident by observing, "Many people presume to ask God for things upon mere acquaintance with Him." Is that not often the case? Prayer is simply two friends talking together. The Bible is God’s side of the conversation. When I read the Scriptures, I soon find myself whispering a petition. When I pray, God’s Word comes to mind. When I listen to His Word, my soul bows in adoration.

Read the great prayers of Moses, Nehemiah, Ezra, and Daniel. In their petitions they spoke God’s words back to Him. This is the prayer language God delights to answer. As you pray, let Him bring Scriptures to mind. Pray them back to Him as they apply to you.

Before you spend time reading and studying the Bible each day, pray that God will make your heart sensitive to His Word. Martin Luther said, "Having prayed well is having studied well." We cannot have one without the other.


Listen to George Müller’s words about his times alone with God: "I begin to meditate the New Testament early in the mornings...Invariably, I have found that...after so many minutes of meditation, my soul is guided to confession, or to give thanks, or to intercede, or to make a request. So, even when you could not say that I had given myself to prayer, but rather to meditation, nevertheless, it turned out that almost immediately the meditation turned into prayer." As God’s Word spoke to Müller’s heart, he naturally responded back to God in prayer. He enjoyed intimate fellowship with his Lord.

Communication is the key to any relationship. Our relationship with God grows only as we communicate our adoration, confession, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving to Him through prayer, and as we listen to His voice through the daily study of His Word.

How well do you know God? How intimate is your relationship with Him? George Müller could come to God, ask Him for five pounds, and know his heavenly Father would somehow supply his need. Could you ask God for that, or are you only an acquaintance?

I spent 8 days and nights in the ICU with my mother after her first heart attack. It was then I felt the awesome presence of God. Since becoming a Christian, have you experienced a time of great suffering? Did you feel God's presence during that time?

Assignment: Give your testimony of God’s special presence in your life as you prayed for someone this week.