“Call to Me and I Will Answer You”

Jeremiah 33:3 — God’s Invitation to Pray

Text: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

Introduction

Brothers and sisters, tonight as we gather for prayer, I want to remind us of something simple yet profound: God Himself invites us to pray. We are not forcing our way into His presence. We are not trying to twist His arm. He calls us, He welcomes us, and He delights to hear from His children.

The verse I want us to look at briefly tonight is Jeremiah 33:3, where the Lord says: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

This short verse gives us three things that prepare our hearts to pray together tonight:

An invitation — “Call to Me.”

A promise — “I will answer you.”

A surprise — “Great and hidden things.”

1. The Invitation — “Call to Me”

Prayer begins with God’s invitation. He wants His people to come to Him, not hold back.

Brothers and sisters, God does not need to be flattered by our prayers. He certainly does not desire that. Scripture warns us against lofty, flowery prayers that are more about impressing others than truly speaking to Him. Jesus Himself said, “When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7).

I fear that sometimes, especially in corporate prayer meetings, we can feel that it’s wrong to come to God with direct, honest, straightforward prayers. As if somehow God needs to be buttered up in order to listen. He doesn’t. He already knows who He is, and He already knows what is in our hearts.

Some of the most memorable prayers in Scripture are short and direct:

Peter cried, “Lord, save me!” (Matt. 14:30), as he began to sink beneath the waves.

The tax collector beat his chest and cried out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13).

These are not long, polished, flowery prayers. They are desperate, honest cries of the heart — and God delights to answer them. The invitation is simple: “Call to Me.”

2. The Promise — “I will answer you”

Here is where the text becomes personal and full of comfort. God is not like earthly rulers who may invite you to make a request but then ignore you. He is not like someone who says, “I’d love to hear from you,” but then leaves your message unread.

God not only invites us to pray — He promises to answer. Notice the certainty of the words: “I will answer you.” Not, “I might.” Not, “I’ll consider it if you say it just right.” But, “I will.”

Now, of course, His answers may come in different forms: sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes wait. But the promise is this: every prayer reaches His ear, and every prayer receives His answer.

After all, ‘No’ is just as definite an answer as ‘Yes’. He is saying that true prayer is neither unheard nor unheeded. It is always answered in the way God sees is best.

Leon Lamb Morris

Look closely at the personal language: “Call to me and I will answer you.”

The “me” is the covenant-keeping God who “made the earth, formed it, and established it” (Jer. 33:2). He is the Creator, the Lord of hosts, the sovereign King.

The “you” in the immediate context is Jeremiah, the prophet sitting in prison (Jer. 33:1). Jeremiah is weak, confined, uncertain, and surrounded by judgment. And yet God says to this weary man: “Call to Me … and I will answer you.”

What a contrast — the infinite God and the frail prophet. And yet that is the glory of prayer: the Almighty bends His ear to the lowly.

Think of Psalm 34:17: “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”Or Psalm 145:18: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Brothers and sisters, the promise of God’s answer should encourage us to pray with boldness. We are not wasting our breath when we pray. We are not speaking into the air. We are speaking to the God who has bound Himself by covenant and by promise to hear His children.

And that should lead us not to flatter Him with many words, but to come before Him with sincerity, honesty, and confidence that His ear is open to us.

3. The Surprise — “Great and Hidden Things”

Here God adds something beyond just the promise to answer. He says, “I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

What does this mean? It means that when we pray, we are not simply maintaining a ritual or checking a box. Prayer is the means by which God is pleased to reveal His wisdom, display His power, and show us His providence in ways we could not anticipate.

Jeremiah was sitting in prison when these words came to him. From his perspective, things looked bleak. Jerusalem was surrounded, the Babylonians were at the gates, and judgment was falling on the nation. What could possibly come of this? Yet God says: “Call to Me. I am doing things you cannot see. I will show you My purposes. I will unfold things hidden from you.”

In other words, prayer is not just about bringing our requests — it is about opening ourselves to the greatness of God’s purposes.

Paul echoes this truth in Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

Often, we pray very small prayers, because our vision of what God can do is so limited. But here, God invites us to pray big prayers — prayers that expect Him to act in ways beyond what we can see, think, or imagine.

Let’s be honest: sometimes prayer feels like throwing words into the dark. But this verse reminds us that God is at work behind the scenes. He is weaving together purposes we don’t yet understand. He is preparing answers we can’t yet see. And one day, whether in this life or the next, we will stand amazed at the “great and hidden things” He was doing all along.

Prayer is not wasted time. Prayer is participation in the unfolding of God’s hidden purposes.

Conclusion and Transition to Prayer

So brothers and sisters, as we turn to prayer tonight, let’s keep this in mind: God is not impressed with lofty words, and He does not need our flattery. He wants our hearts, our honesty, and our dependence.

He has invited us: “Call to Me.” He has promised us: “I will answer you.” And He will surprise us by showing us “great and hidden things” beyond anything we could have imagined.

So let’s take Him at His word. Let’s pray direct, simple, sincere prayers, confident that He hears and that He will answer — not for our glory, but for His.