What Might God Say?
May 8, 2009

“May our God come and not keep silence.” – Psalm 50:3

We are so quick to ask for God’s presence. We are so eager to hear his voice. “May our God come and not keep silence!” we cry out.

And I agree: we should desire the presence of our God. We should yearn to hear his voice. But we should make no assumptions or presumptions about God – about what his presence might bring, or what his voice might say.

Psalm 50, where this verse comes from, is a psalm of judgment and warning. Not spoken to some pagan people, but spoken directly to Israel, the people of God. Israel had fallen into sin – rebellion, adultery, deceit, slander … the list is long and damning. They were still burning sacrifices and going through the motions of worship, but their heart was far from the Lord.

So before we come before God, before we ask for his presence, before we pray for his voice, it would be wise to ask ourselves: What might God say when he comes?

• Do you ever assume that God will speak or act in a certain way? If so, what are those assumptions, why do you have them, and are they biblically accurate?
  
• What might God say to you about your life right now, both positive and negative?
  
• What might God say to your church right now, both positive and negative?