Prayer: A Conversation With God

God waits for us to seek Him. Photo Credit: Unknown 

I am Forgetful

There are times when I forget. 

I get busy doing all the things I think I should be doing and for hours, sometimes days I do not talk to my Lord. 

This is no way to have a relationship, not a good one anyway. 

If I were to treat my husband or kids like that, giving the silent treatment for hours or days on end then my relationships would begin to suffer. I know this. I pay attention to the people in my life, but why is it I fail to pay attention to my Father? Instead of acting like a beloved daughter, I wander around like a homeless orphan. 

I am Not Alone

The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt. They were free of the tyranny of enslavement. Led by a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night, they followed the Lord's leading. They saw the spirit of God descend Mt. Sinai like a fire and a billow of smoke. They heard God's voice like thunder. They were in awe. 

Then Moses ascended the mountain and left the people below. For forty days and forty nights Moses dwelt in the presence of God at the top of the mountain. Below, the children of Israel heard only the sound of thunder. They began to forget it was God's voice and soon ignored it all together. They approached Aaron and asked for an idol to worship. Why? 

In the absence of fellowship we revert to spiritual enslavement and false idols. TWEET THAT

The Before and After

Before Jesus, we were lost in darkness. We wander around like blind men, groping for some stability. We look for salvation but only see darkness. We wait for a sudden illumination, but there is nothing.(Isaiah 59:9-10)  Then salvation comes. 

God saw our need for a Savior. He saw our desperation. His heart was moved with passion and zeal to show His great love for us. So He sent Jesus - His right arm. 

"He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor;

Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him." Isaiah 59:16 

The word "wondered" in Hebrew means to be made desolate, appalled, stunned, ravaged, stupefied, or deflowered. God saw there was no champion (ish in Hebrew - Strongs 0376) and it raped His heart. (yes- I said raped) He was made desolate at the thought His creation would never be able to have full fellowship with Him because of their sin.  Mankind needed an intercessor. 

That word "intercessor" can be translated in the Hebrew (Strongs 06293) to mean "to cause light to shine on" or "to reach the mark". God's right arm (Jesus) was sent to save us. To make a way where there was no way before. A sacrifice for all mankind, to take away the sins of the world. The word "Salvation" in this passage is pronounced "yaw-shah" which reminds me of the name "Yeshua" (ye-shew-ah) or Jesus. 

By providing a way for us to come to Him freely, God revived himself after feeling such loss. That is what it means when it says "it sustained Him". (Strongs 05564) 

Before Jesus we were lost, in the dark, groping like blind men. After Jesus we have a way to approach our Father boldly, with confidence that He loves us and has made us His righteousness through Christ. Now we have relationship. Now we can have fellowship. 

Fellowship is Key

God dwelt among us in the flesh. He walked in the midst of people. Jesus, fully God and fully man, laid down His life so that we could have fellowship with God. Then, Jesus returned to heaven, so He could give us the Spirit of God. The kingdom of God, alive and living in our very hearts. This is the mystery Paul spoke of. The God of the Universe dwelling in the hearts of man. 

God would not have gone through so much trouble if the reward was not great. Fellowship with us is that reward. His heart longs for our heart. Like a long lost lover longs for his beloved, God longs for us to be in fellowship with Him. 

So when I forget to talk to Him, I hurt the very heart of God. 

Prayer

Prayer is simply talking with God. A conversation. Fellowship. It is not a magical formula: if you mix equal parts thanksgiving with equal parts supplication then you get double parts blessing. (Blah)  We do not serve God for what we can get from God. 

We serve God because He is Holy and deserves our service. The paradox of God is this: as we make it more about HIM, He makes it more about us. He shows His love to us over and over and begins to shower us with blessings, not because we hit the magic formula, but out of His love and outpouring of relationship with us He gives to us. 

Prayer is talking. Prayer is asking. Prayer is worship. Prayer is fellowship. We have access to God by what He provided in Jesus, but we must approach the Father and talk with Him to begin to know Him, and like any conversation, prayer is a two way street. 

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" John 10:27

You would not know your best friend or your spouse if you had never talked to them. God demands the same and more in order to know Him and to walk in fellowship with Him. It all starts with a conversation. 

He deserves more than my hard heart and cold shoulder. 

Forgive me Lord. Forgive my hard heart and my weak mind. Help me set my eyes on you and not be distracted by the things of this world that threaten to consume me. Instead, let me be consumed by You, like Mount Sinai was consumed. Like a fire and a billow of smoke, let me rest and dwell in Your presence. 

Join the Conversation

Do you find praying difficult? Why or why not?