Theme: Communing with our Father
Remember driving down a country road carrying on an important conversation, and, suddenly, the call is dropped. Or you are on vacation somewhere and you cannot get service to send all of those “wish you were here” photos back to friends and family. Think of the frustration you felt, so lost and alone. Suddenly you were on an island, with no lifeline to the outside. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but I know it’s not much of one, as I have felt that.
I find it odd that we can almost panic without cell coverage but find it ok to go days without talking to our Father, our Lord, and our Creator. Galatians 4:6 tells us, “Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba’, Father”. Why is it we do not feel as lost without our Father as we do from losing our communication with the world? I must confess that I am fully on board the “we” boat, as I actually have never compared my communion with my Lord and God with my communication with those in the world, to see the craziness of the comparison. We call friends and family to seek advice about jobs, illnesses, or to share our joys and life’s good news, but do we think of talking to our Father in the same way? Is it because we feel we need immediate answers?
Allow me to suggest something that I believe is true, but please do not ask me to prove it. Think of a time when you were in constant communion with God. Do you remember that the conversation was often not you just talking and talking, reciting something or placing petition after petition before Him? In those times it was often just listening, and a feeling of just being in His presence. In those moments we can actually hear God speaking to us, not audibly, but in the Spirit. It may be a thought you know could not have come from you, an assignment for us, or something He would like us to read or study. If we maintain that regular, second nature communication with God, our answers become more immediate and clearer, closer to what we think we can only get within the world.
In closing, may I suggest a few lessons from our lives with cell phones that relate to our prayer life with God, and these fall into some of the categories Pastor Dan spoke of this past Sunday.
1. Reflect on how important your communication with the world is versus your communication with God.
2. Touching on Pastor Dan’s Greek definition of prayer as “an exchange of ideas”, think about how you approach your solitary prayers. Do you see them as “an exchange” or a filibuster? Maybe we would all get more answers and clarity if we allowed the exchange to take place.
3. Some locations are not advantageous to communication via cell phones. This can relate to areas of no coverage and places where the noise does not allow us to hear. As Pastor Dan suggested, it is also likely that not all locations are best for our communication with God. We may be at a place in our lives where sin is disabling our coverage and not allowing clear communication. We will need to confess our sins in order to re-establish coverage. Or we place ourselves in a physical location where we cannot hear God’s voice. Have you repented from those things that are the country roads to our communion with God and are you like Jesus, when He sought solitude and quiet in order to hear His Father’s voice.
Scripture: Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV)
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Prayer
Lord, I confess that I often do not love you as I should, and that I often place worldly communication ahead of my communion with you. Oh, Holy Spirit, work in me to long for communion and the exchange of thoughts with my Father and the Creator of the universe. Make me understand the love and dependecy Jesus had with you and fill me with the utter longing to cry “Abba”, and to just be in your presence. In Christ’s precious name I pray. Amen
Comments