Welcome to Day 2. for one of our short powerful devotions from the 31 Bible Verses About Practicing The Presence Of God. This short devotional is based on Jeremiah 33:3.
Read Jeremiah 33:3.
"Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand)."
This is from the Amplified Bible.
This is such a beautiful and encouraging verse! It becomes so much richer when we uncover the context for Jeremiah 33:3. These words were spoken by God to Jeremiah the prophet centuries ago when he was imprisoned for telling King Zedekiah the message God instructed him to share. These words were to encourage Jeremiah to keep calling out to God, to be in constant prayer, and to continue seeking God, especially during times of persecution.
What is God's phone number?
Corrie ten Boom called Jeremiah 33:3 "God's private telephone number" and she encourages us to call Him day and night because God never slumbers or sleeps, Psalm 121:4.
Jeremiah 33:3 meaning
So let's take a look at what happened to Jeremiah the Prophet. Jeremiah spent most of his life warning his people of severe judgment to come if the nation of Israel did not repent of their evil ways and return to the Lord their God. They were a rebellious people and they did not like the message that Jeremiah kept giving them from God. They preferred to listen to false prophets that told them everything would be good instead of listening to God's true prophet who was calling them to repentance for their wicked deeds. Jeremiah was persecuted. The people called for King Zedekiah to place Jeremiah in prison and this is where God spoke to him.
Jeremiah may have been lonely and uncomfortable in prison but God reminded him that he can be in His presence anywhere and all the time. God tells Jeremiah to call out to Him and to listen for all that God can teach him even in a prison cell. And that is why God's phone number is known as Jeremiah 33:3. Call it anytime!
Join me below for a short devotional as we unpack what God is saying to us through Jeremiah 33:3 and make sure you join me in prayer at the bottom of the post too.
If you want to join the 31-day Bible study of Practicing The Presence Of God - Start HERE.
Short Devotional: God's Private Telephone Number
Have you been regularly dialing Jeremiah 33:3?
Have you been regularly seeking God?
Do you ever wish that you were wiser or discerning?
I know that I do! I have found that when I am stuck and I don't know what to do in certain situations, God does give me the wisdom to figure out how to solve the problem. Well, that might be an exaggeration. Sometimes, I don't get the answer to my problem but that usually means that God is working in the background and I have to be patiently waiting!
But I am learning to practice the presence of God and I am remembering to call on Him and listen to what He has to tell me. On a practical note, God has shown me how to figure out how to do certain things on my blog. I would have spent hours of frustration trying to work something out. I would have of course googled how to do it and even searched Youtube for answers but I couldn't find any. And then I finally do what I should have done in the first place, I dialed 333 (Jeremiah 33:3) and asked God for the solution. You can check out the Resource Library, that was God's answer on how to share all my free printables with you!
Praying Jeremiah 33:3
We do not always see what God is doing behind the scenes in our lives. But He calls us to trust Him and to wait expectantly for Him to tell us the most amazing and mighty things that we don't yet know or even comprehend.
To be able to hear God clearly and for Him to be able to work well in our lives, we need to have clean hearts. I'm sure you may not be as rebellious as the people of Israel were during the time of Jeremiah but if you ask God to reveal to you what sins need to be confessed, do it and then enjoy such a sweet time in the presence of God.
So take heart!
The God of the universe has given instructions for you to call Him. He is patiently waiting for your call. In fact, He is expecting you to call at any time of the day.
God will answer you but you need to listen for His instruction that may not be what you expected. Stay in God's presence and listen for His direction. God's solutions to our problems are way better than ones that we could have found using just our own wisdom.
God's ways are higher than our ways. When you come prayerfully into God's presence, He promises to show us 'fenced-in' and hidden things.
Finally, be excited and expectant of what God will teach you. We never stop learning or discovering new things about Him. He has so much to teach us.
To help you apply this verse to your life and to listen for what God is saying to you I have created a free printable with 31 scriptures on Practicing The Presence Of God, a guided prayer journal to help you go deeper with each verse and to help you unpack what God is saying to you through each verse.
Today's devotional is based on Jeremiah 33:3 which is from our Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures Plan. You will find a free printable PDF of 31 scriptures about God's presence in the Resource Library. It has a bible reading plan, guided prayer, and gratitude journal. Download this free printable or grab a notebook.
What is God saying to you through this verse?
What burdens do you need to surrender to God and trust Him with?
Write out your prayer request.
What are you grateful for today? Count your blessings!
Write out the scripture verse, it helps you to memorize the scripture and store up God's truth in your heart. Then in the last section of the prayer journal, there is space to record what God is speaking to you through our grace bible verse for today, Jeremiah 33:3.
Scripture Prayer
We are called to pray without ceasing. That means we can talk with God at any time and in any place. This is a great way to practice the presence of God. Praying scripture is a powerful way to pray so join me in praying Jeremiah 33:3.
Thank you Father that You instruct us to talk to you. Forgive me for my sins and show me anything that I need to repent of. Show me Your way, Your plans, Your solutions for all that concerns me. Help me to be patient while You work behind the scenes of my life and fill me with Your wisdom and discernment about all that I need to know about. Thank you Father that You know what lies ahead, that You have a good plan for my future and that when I seek Your face, You will reveal to me the hidden things that I don't yet know. Amen.
Related Resources:
You will find Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures HERE. It will have the list of 31 Bible verses that we are using for 31 days that our short powerful daily devotionals are based on.
Or if you are using the online format of our Practicing The Presence Of God Bible study- click here for Day 3.
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xx Karen.