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Bring Back the Joy --- B B t J . O r g
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TALKING WITH AND LISTENING TO GOD
Greetings again. This has been an interesting three weeks during our travels to another state. I've had a lot of time for reflection. It was wonderful being able to have quality time with my husband. One thing about driving, there are a lot of hours for talking. We use that word "talking" so loosely. I have even posted in myJournal the phrase "Talk to you later." Not exactly accurate as how many of you have I spoken with, either on the phone or in person? Of course, we all know that I mean to write that I will be posting another message at a later time. In context, most of the time when we refer to talking, we are meaning a verbal exchange between two people. One of the questions is: Are we talking "at" or talking "with" someone? Mark jokes that when we go on a trip in the car, I can have his undivided attention and can talk all I want. I occasionally let him get a word in edgewise. Talking "with" someone implies an exchange of information. That one speaks, and the other listens. Then presumably the second person speaks while the first person listens. I've asked myself how I can better apply this to my spiritual life. The first thought is that it is important to talk to God. He wants us to communicate with Him. Jesus set an example of praying. I recently read somewhere that it is guessed that his prayers were said in the early morning quiet, between 4 and 7 am. I advocate that one pray at times when one is most alert. On the other hand, sometimes I don't sleep well at night; I often use that time to share my thoughts with God. I won't say that I'm always "alert" but there certainly aren't any distractions like the phone ringing or needing to fix dinner. We should never forget that God is always with us, reading and willing to listen. Therefore we can send up a prayer whenever a thought hits that we wish to share with loving God. I Thessalonians 5:17 The disciples asked Christ to teach them to pray. His response is what we call The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 . Luke 11 also shows Christ's instructions on prayer. We are to express things to God according to his Will. In past postings, I have mentioned how important it is to read our Bible. To know what it has to say so we can question things that come past us. The scriptures are one way that God communicates to us. We can apply the Biblical teachings to the incidents in our lives. While I try to read my Bible daily, I have to admit that I am deficient in my listening in other ways. Another way to listen to God is to wait quietly and see what pops into the head. No, I don't mean something like the tune of the latest Britney Spears song. I mean a quiet nudging or maybe even words. My friend Connie related an awesome experience she recently had. She was asking God for understanding of the prepositions in the phrases "in Christ,"" through Christ," and "by Christ." She struggles with the usage of prepositions. When lying in bed one night, a thorough explanation came to her. It was as plain as if someone was actually there telling her. Being a verbal female, I have to say that I do most of the talking and am having to learn how to relax, be quiet and listen to the Lord. There are several other ways in which God and the Holy Spirit communicate with us. Some of these are peace about a situation, messages from another, through a pastor, visions, and circumstances. We must ask for discernment in hearing the message. By which I mean that we must also know God's word well enough to be able to discern that the message really is from God and aligns with his Word; otherwise, it is possible that we are deceived by evil forces. Once we have heard the message and know that it is from God, we need to believe and act upon it. As we hear, we can continue to respond to God in a way that is pleasing to both. As we draw closer in relationship to Him through a give and take of conversation, then we can truly say "This is awesome!" |
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