To better understand the word "call," I turned to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Based on the definition and synonyms, here are 8 actions we can take to call on God's power in times of trouble.
1. Ask
If we desire anything from our Heavenly Father, one of the very first things we should do is ask him for it. God may know the desires of our hearts, but his plan is a plan of agency. God wants to bless us, but part of his plan is that we show faith in him by first asking for those things that we stand in need of. God wants to bless our lives, and he wants to help us, he is simply waiting for us to ask.
2. Involve
In all your plans, make sure you are involving God. Do not assume you can do it alone. You need God's help. We often get into a cycle where the only time we go to God is when we need his help. Make sure you include God on the good days as well as the bad. If you involve God in every aspect of your life, he will be more willing to help you in your times of trouble. He will know you are not just calling on him to get you out of a storm, but that you rely on him in times of sunshine as well.
3. Speak aloud
Make sure when you are calling on God's power, you find a quiet place to pray where you can speak to God out loud as you would a loving father. Make sure you have plenty of time so you can pour your heart out to him in uninterrupted prayer. Speaking out loud adds power to your prayer and can leave a profound effect on the spirit you feel from him as he answers you.
4. Communicate
Communication is a two-way process. If you are calling down God's power, that power will come in the form of his spirit, and you need to be ready to listen and act on those promptings when they come. Make sure you are living in such a way that you can recognize the spirit when he is speaking to you, so you do not miss important messages that are coming directly from your Heavenly Father.
5. Invite
Make the spirit a part of your everyday life. Do activities that will allow the spirit to reside in your home. Read your scriptures, say your prayers, attend church, serve others, do all the things you can to make sure you are worthy to have the spirit. Do not do things that would offend the spirit and send it away. Learn how God's spirit speaks to you. Pray each morning to invite the spirit to be with you throughout the day. Make sure you are doing everything you can to invite that blessing into your life.
6. Address
When talking to God, be respectful and recognize that he is God, and he is in charge. Do not tell him what you want or what you are going to do. Instead, ask him if he would be willing to grant the desires of your heart and if what you're doing is aligned with his plan for you. Give your life over to him. God sees the beginning from the end, and he can do much more with our lives than we can. As we turn our will over to him, we can better understand that there is a purpose for every trial we go through. God knows the way out and the way up. All we have to do is allow him to take us there.
7. Need
Make sure when you are talking with God and asking him for help that you are doing it with a sincere heart. We are given the promise if we ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, God will answer us. If we do not truly believe we need God, we will not have the faith required to call down his power to help us. Calling down God's power is not just about asking for it, it is about having the faith required to believe God will do what he has promised. Faith really can produce miracles. It has the ability to call down the powers of heaven to move mountains if necessary. But the power to make those miracles happen is not just dependent on God, it is also dependent on us.
8. Visit
If we want to call down God's power in times of trouble, we need to make sure we are visiting with him often not just in prayer but visiting his house of worship. God's spirit is present in his house, and we can find strength to combat all the darkness in the world if we continually visit his house of light. God is light and the more light we seek, the more power we have to overcome the darkness.
Calling on God's power in times of trouble will not only strengthen us through our trials, but it will give us the light we need to withstand the darkness of the world around us. As we learn to call upon God's power, he will give us the ability to overcome every obstacle that is placed before us.
