Vital Signs: Sunday, April 6, 2025

Prayer is a Two-Way Conversation

Imagine a little boy or girl with a brand-new set of never-before-used walkie-talkies.

Let’s pretend that both walkie-talkies have batteries, they’re fully charged, fully functional, and even on the same channel.

No doubt there are many variables—things that could be wrong to one degree or another—that would cause a conversation to be “un-hearable.” But in this case, let’s say everything is in order—everything except one thing.

Both children are ready. They’ve found separate sides of the house, yard, or playground to begin their conversation. The first one to speak pushes the button just like they should and begins to tell funny secrets or share the plan for the covert operation to take over the big kids’ bedroom. However, the second child begins talking without ever pushing the button. Thus begins the one-sided conversation.

This is by no means a perfect analogy, but more Christians than you might imagine are asking this question: “How do you hear the voice of God?” Maybe you’ve wondered that yourself at one time or another?

In John 10:27, Jesus gives us such a beautiful perspective to consider: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” God has been speaking since the beginning. It was the sound of His voice that initiated creation. “In the beginning…” God spoke, and everything around Him listened and responded.

“The Bible is the primary way God speaks to His children, but it’s not the only way.” — Brian Alarid

Listen to the words of well-known authors Henry Blackaby and Claude King:

“If anything is clear from a reading of the Bible, this fact is clear: God speaks to His people. He spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis. He spoke to Abraham and the other patriarchs. God spoke to the judges, kings, and prophets. God was in Christ Jesus speaking to the disciples. God spoke to the early church, and God spoke to John on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation. God does speak to His people, and you can anticipate that He will be speaking to you also.”

The nature of a conversation is that people—two or more—take turns talking and listening. A good conversation feeds the depth of a relationship.

When a husband and wife don’t communicate—when they don’t have two-way conversations—their relationship suffers. The same is true in our relationship with God.

God’s original design for prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue.