Talking to the Man
Special thanks to Javier in the MLR Forum for this revelation and for being such an avid supporter of the forum. You are a blessing!
Some call it prayer…some call it seeking the Lord…i call it, Talking to the Man. It’s something we all SHOULD do. I know this, you know this…but sometimes its just plain tough because there’s a new episode of Top Chef on, or maybe the Powerpuff Girls, if thats your thing.
Prayer…
So what is prayer? Simply talking to God. A CONVERSATION with God. So, I guess ill start with the obvious. Prayer is dialogue with God; your not reading a monologue to God. Probably one of the most important aspects of prayer, if not the most important is LISTENING. I know sometimes we see God as someone who is there just to vent to so we can feel better like some sort of magical genie, who we make our requests known to and expect them to just happen.
How many times is God trying to correct us, teach us, love on us, etc. to find that we have our ears covered. As ive heard some preachers say before…”there’s a reason why God gave us two ears and one mouth.” Could it be that listening is often more important than just talking? This is often hard for me because a) sometimes i just like to talk and b) because its hard to just sit and listen. But how will we ever know what God wants and expects from us if we never give him the mic to speak?
Luke 11:5-8
5. And He said to them, “Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6. for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7. and from inside he shall answer and say, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you [anything].’ 8. “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him [anything] because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9. “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. 11. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12. “Or [if] he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
In this particular verse Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus how to pray and after he told him about the Lord’s prayer he says this. This verse has always hit me sideways with a rusty golfclub. Sometimes we come to God and thats it, we leave it at that, and sometimes that is the right thing to do. But in this particular verse he talks about the importance of persistence. (some translations say boldness) So because of this man’s boldness / persistence, his friend gets up and gives him whatever he needs. We need to come before the Lord with boldness. How nice and easy would it be if we prayed for someone to get saved and poof, just like that…NO, thats the very reason for VIP cards, because we need to consistently come before the Lord in faith, asking for these people. How badly do we want to know the heart of the Lord? How badly do we want to taste His goodness? Do we want God badly enough to come before Him everyday and pray? To come before Him everyday and just chat? In a society where it’s easy to get caught up in the business of school or work or hobbies or anything, we need to DESIRE the Lord enough that we talk to Him constantly. I could keep going but ill leave it at that. Seek the Lord with all your heart.
So what is prayer? Talking to God. This doesnt always have to be locked in the secret place. It could be walking down the street, playing basketball, eating dinner, anywhere, anytime.
I don’t claim to be a master of the art but this is mainly to spark some thought on your part (and mine). Talk to God as much as you can. I need to talk to God more too.