Thursday, November 10, 2011

SHHHHH I’m talking.

Ever had one of those friends that when you get together you can’t get a word in edgewise. I mean they’re fun to be around, you enjoy their company, but they are a ‘talk with a mouth full of marbles underwater’ type of person. Sometimes we’re all a little like that. We’re so upset, so excited, so focused on us that even when we ask a question we don’t stop long enough to get an answer.

God is all about relationships. He loves to hear from us and yet people get all hung up on the word ‘prayer’. People think there is a magic formula to pray and that you have to use the right words, in the right format or it won’t be effective. Of course sometimes this is just fine, but when you stop and remember God is about relationships you realize that that isn’t what is important.

The most important thing is that we are talking with Him, holding a conversation with Him. Now a conversation is a two way street. There is a talker and a listener and they swap back & forth. When we ask a question we need to stop and listen to the answer. Not just hear the noise, but listen to the words. This is where sometimes we become that friend, that person who just doesn’t stop, doesn’t listen.

Ever listened to someone on the phone, come on I know you have, we all have. You’ll hear the person speaking and then nothing and then they’ll start again. This is how we should be praying. It needs to be a two-way thing. We need to talk and then we need to stop and listen for the reply. Listening requires us to focus on something other than ourselves, our lives, the world around us. Listening can’t be done with the kids screaming, the television blaring & you focusing on the task at hand. Listening requires your focus. We do that when we’re on the phone so why not when we pray.

I’m thinking that I’m going to get myself a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, get comfy and give my BFF a call. I think I’m going to talk a bit and then for something different I think I’m going to stop and listen to what He has to say to me. Who knows what I’m going to learn, but I know it’s going to be good because my BFF is just the best!

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