READY:
“You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
-Jeremiah 29:12-13
SET:
Have you ever had a time in your life when you wanted to be pursued and listened to? As human beings, we naturally desire to be in relationships, to have open lines of communication with others. Have you ever wanted that with someone who didn’t reciprocate?
There was a time in my own life in which I was pleading with God to re-establish an open line of communication with a friend. And I was asking Him to allow it to be through verbal communication, not another all-to-familiar text message. But when that didn’t happen, I couldn’t understand why He wasn’t answering my prayers. I then realized that He was answering, just not in the way I expected. The Lord used that situation, as He often does, to teach me a lesson about the kind of communication He desires from each of His beloved children.
Although text messages are a popular form of communication and allow for quick and easy interaction, they are very impersonal. While text messages can compliment verbal communication, any relationship of depth cannot be based on or centered around them.
Through my own situation, I felt God saying, “I want more than text messages from you.” I started thinking about how often I simply “text” God throughout the day, sending up quick prayers (usually prayer requests) without any follow-up. While it is awesome to be able to talk to God at any point during the day, He wants more than just “text messages” from each of us. He wants us to pursue Him, to be rooted in prayer. He desires that we be open and honest and that we open up our hearts to Him — to not only ask but to praise. He will listen!
Prayer is our opportunity to communicate with Him. He craves a deeper relationship with each of us, where we talk to Him in depth, as well as try to listen to Him through His Word (the Bible) and the Holy Spirit.
GO:
1. Do you take time to communicate with God through more than text message-like prayers?
2. When was the last time you spent quality time really talking to God?
3. Have you ever spent time trying to let Him talk to you through the Bible and the Holy Spirit?
4. How can you start to pursue God more in depth today?
WORKOUT:
Psalm 119:164
Matthew 6:9-15
1 Thessalonians 5:17
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Rapagnani is an FCA Area Representative in Northern Indiana.
“You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” –Jeremiah 29:12-13
Have you ever had a time in your life when you wanted to be pursued and listened to? As human beings, we desire to be in relationships, to have open lines of communication with others. Have you ever wanted that with someone who didn’t reciprocate?
I once asked for God’s help to reestablish communication with a friend. I asked that it be through verbal communication, not another all-too-familiar text message. When that didn’t happen, I couldn’t understand why He didn’t answer my prayer. Later I realized He did answer, just not the way I expected. The Lord used that situation to teach me about the kind of communication He desires from His children.
Although text messages are a popular form of communication and allow for quick and easy interaction, they are very impersonal. Any relationship of depth cannot be centered on them.
Through my own situation, I felt God say, “I want more than text messages from you.” I thought about how often I simply “text” God throughout the day, sending up quick prayers (usually requests) without any follow up.
While it is awesome to be able to talk to God at any point during the day, He wants more than just text messages from us. He wants us to pursue Him, to be rooted in prayer. He craves a deeper relationship with us. Prayer is our opportunity to communicate with Him.
1. When was the last time you spent quality time really talking to God?
2. Have you ever let Him talk to you through the Bible and the Holy Spirit?
3. How can you pursue God more deeply?
Psalm 119:164; Matthew 6:9-15; 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Heavenly Father, forgive me for my impersonal communication with You. I desire something more intimate. I want to share my heart with You. Thank You for always being there for me. Amen.
