"I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with
shame.
This poor man called, and the LORD
heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles."
~Psalm 34:4-7
"He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think" ~ Brother Lawrence; The Practice of the Presence of God
Words are important. Do you have children? . . . Parents? . . . Cherished friends? How would you feel if those you loved didn't talk to you? Or what if they only spoke to you when they were in trouble, sick, mad or worse yet, only when they wanted something? Even though being ignored until "necessary" would probably hurt, I'll bet you would treasure every word your loved one said to you, when they finally contacted you.
How is your conversation with the Lord? Do you pray regularly or do you converse with Him in your mind? Not every conversation with the Lord HAS to be "official" prayer, you can talk to Him anywhere you are. A couple Sunday's ago, I was excited that our Pastor Tom brought up how Brother Lawrence trained himself to make his thought-life an on-going conversation with the Lord. I read Brother Lawrence's book, The Practice of the Presence of God, early in my Christian walk and that was one of the first disciplines I adopted ~ to transform my thought-life into conversation with the Lord.
Why should we wait until "the time is right" or conditions are perfect? In many seasons of our life, those times and conditions can be few and far between. Why not talk to the Lord while you are driving to work or school? While you are in the shower (by-the-way, the acoustics in the shower are great for singing praise songs :-D) . . . while you are waiting for an appointment . . . washing the dishes . . . taking a walk . . . asking for wisdom and guidance while conversing with an unbeliever . . . thanking Him for breath in your lungs and a heart that beats for Him.
Quiet time set aside for earnest prayer is vital, but the Lord treasures our conversation and any conversation will do; and like any loving Father, He LOVES talking to the children He adores.
Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><
I enjoyed the way you have emphasized the simplicity of conversing with God, Kim. I think so many times we get caught up in some of the things you mentioned, like not having to wait for the time to be right to talk with Him, that we totally ignore Him altogether. How that must hurt Him. I read Practice the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence last year and vowed to make that one of the books I read every year because it is just SO rich!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it an amazing book? I need to re-read it, myself.
DeleteBlessings . . .
if it weren't for my morning devotions, I'd have killed myself after Dave died. talking with God isn't difficult or hard but it does take attention and thought and time.
ReplyDelete