God delights in making promises to His believing children. Not only does He delight in making promises to us, but He also does everything in His power to fulfill them. Indeed, He is the Best Promise-Maker and the Best Promise-Keeper in the entire universe.

God made this promise to His people

Today, I would like us consider the promise God made through His prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 33:3. God made this promise to His people during the time the Babylonians had invaded the land of Judah. They devasted the land and destroyed many lives. Indeed, it was a time when many in Judah were despairing of life. Hope for a better and brighter future was gradually being abandoned. Many in Judah were desperate. Jeremiah himself was imprisoned and probably did not know all that was happening in and around Jerusalem.

Call to Me and I will answer you

But it was in such a desperate and despairing time that it pleased the Lord and God of Israel to make one of His blessed promises to His people. The promise reads: “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3; NASB). The Lord is giving this word of promise to boost our confidence in Him that He is indeed the One and Only true prayer answering God.

Jeremiah 33:3 begins with “Call to Me”

Now please allow me to share two simple yet significant spiritual lessons from God’s promise in Jeremiah 33:3. First, is the personal invitation given to God’s people by Yahweh Himself. Please notice Jeremiah 33:3 begins with “Call to Me.” This reads in the Hebrew: “Qara’ ‘e-lay.” This is a personal invitation by Yahweh Himself. That is, the self-existing, the self-sufficient, the self-sustaining, the sovereign and the supreme Deity of the universe. He is in a distinguished class all by Himself. None of the gods of the lands can compare with Him

The LORD is mentioned four times

Now notice in your Bible that in Jeremiah 33:1-2, “the LORD,” is mentioned four times. This is God’s special or proper name from the four letters YHWH. Please be reminded today that born again believers in Jesus Christ are the most blessed and most privileged people in the entire universe. Why? It’s because they are personally invited by the Lord of the universe to call on Him. In other words, they are given the privilege of imploring Yahweh in any and all circumstances – and get His attention. They are invited to implore Yahweh. They are given the blessed privilege of crying out to Yahweh with confident expectation that He will respond to them.

To God alone it belongs to reveal what is future

Indeed, to God alone it belongs to reveal what is future and astonishing things which will be coming upon God’s wayward people in Judea. My prayer is that we will gain a fresh confidence in investing ourselves in prayer individually and collectively. This is because the sovereign and the supreme Deity of the universe has personally invited us to call on Him! The President of the United States (POTUS) is regarded as the most powerful person in the world. What a great honor it is to be personally invited by the POTUS! But greater and far superior is the personal invitation of YAHWEH. For He is above all. He transcends all. The greatest honor bestowed on God’s people is His personal invitation to call on Him.

Please notice the precious promises given by Yahweh

Second, please notice the precious promises given by Yahweh. You see, God knows how much His answer to our prayers builds and boosts our confidence in Him. As such, God’s first promise to Jeremiah, to the Jews and to all of God’s believing people is: “I will answer you.” The prophet Jeremiah experienced God as a prayer answering God. And guess what! It’s now your turn and my turn to experience God as a prayer answering God. God’s ability and willingness to answer prayer didn’t stop with Jeremiah. In fact, He wants believers today to experience Him consistently as a prayer answering God.

Are you experiencing God as a prayer answering God

Are you experiencing God as a prayer answering God? Is your experience of God as a prayer answering God once only in a long while? If so, trust God to bring a change in your experience of Him as a prayer answering God. He promises to answer you. Therefore, you can expect Him to honor His word. For, “God is not a man that, He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19; NASB). The expected answer to these questions is, “Yes! Yes, indeed!”

Two months ago, the battery of my phone literally “died”

Two months ago, the battery for my ZTE phone literally “died.” It had no power at all. It would not take any charge. I looked for a replacement but couldn’t find one. That tells you my phone is a bit old. However, I desperately needed to use the phone for some urgent personal matters. But the battery had no life to power up the phone. In my desperation and distress, I turned to the Lord of life. I told the Lord that it is who gives spiritual life as well as physical life.

He is the Lord of life

Since He is the Lord of life, He must also give “technological life.” After all, technology is totally dependent on Him. Then I laid my hands on the phone and specifically asked the Lord to give the battery life to power up the phone. Then I watched the battery charged up to 1 percent. With only a percentage battery power, I was able to use the phone to accomplish what I needed to do at the time. God gave me a fresh testimony of experiencing Him as a prayer answering God. It was a remarkable and refreshing experience for me because it really boosted my confidence in the Lord my God. In fact, He repeated this experience again and again as long as I needed “technological life” to power up my phone. I give Him all the glory for the great things He had done for me.

God gave a second promise to Jeremiah

Also, God gave a second promise to Jeremiah, and to all of God’s believing people. It reads: “I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” This is a glorious promise indeed. It’s a magnificent promise. God is saying: “Just call on Me, or cry out to Me, or call out to Me. And I will tell or show or make known to you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

God is saying to His people

Indeed, God is saying to His people: “Don’t settle for asking Me small things. Dare to ask Me great and mighty things. Why? I am a great and mighty God. I have given you My precious promise of telling you great and mighty things.” Actually, the great and mighty things are inaccessible things (Hebrew, besuroth). The Hebrew word “berusoth,” speaks of something made inaccessible by fortifying or enclosing it, such as a city.

God’s plans for Israel were out of reach to most people

You see, God’s plans for Israel were out of reach to most people, including the prophet Jeremiah. But God promises He would reveal some of these secrets and share them with Jeremiah in answer to his prayer. The Bible is teaching us here that we must ask the Lord for some things before He will give them to us (cf. Matthew 7:7; James 4:2).

Your situation is desperate

Perhaps, your situation is desperate. You are even despairing of life. Your hope is gradually fading. But there is hope for you. Because God’s glorious promise given to Jeremiah and the Jews is a glorious promise to you too. Yahweh Himself is personally inviting you to cry out to Him in any and all circumstances of life. Indeed, He wants you to gain a fresh confidence in Him that He is a prayer answering God. In fact, He wants to build and boost your confidence in approaching Him in prayer.

The Lord is willing to make known to you what is out of reach to you

Indeed, the Lord is willing to make known to you what is out of reach to you. Yes, He will show you what is in the future. That is, what He has prepared for your life in the days to come. Therefore, believer in Jesus Christ, take heart. Trust Him. Come to Him. Call on the Lord with confident assurance. Cry out to Him, knowing that He will certainly hear your cry and respond to you. For He has promised you too. “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and tell you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

Jeremiah experienced God as a prayer answering God

Surely, the prophet Jeremiah experienced God as a prayer answering. God wants you too to experience Him as a prayer answering. That’s why He gave you these precious promises in Jeremiah 33:3. I pray that the Holy Spirit will use the teaching on Jeremiah 33:3 to spur you on in your prayer life. And that He will give you a fresh testimony of experiencing God as a prayer answering God.