The LORD who made the earth, the LORD who forms it to establish it, the LORD is his name, says this: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:2-3 HCSB
The word conversation is defined as a talk, especially an informal one, between two or more people, in which news and ideas are exchanged. When we use the word conversation we think of a casual talk between two people. With many people it’s difficult to have a two sided conversation. Some people are focused on their own thoughts and ideas and give you very little opportunity to speak. Some people try to talk over you while you are talking to them. Others interrupt your chain of thoughts.
We all have those that we go to for good, solid advice. We have those that we trust with our deepest secrets. We may have those that we enjoy listening to because of their sense of humor or colorful stories that they share.
Conversation is a major part of our communication process in any relationship. We can also communicate with body language and looks and through acts of kindness, but open, honest conversation is crucial to any good, solid relationship.
Our Christian lives should not be about our religion. Heaven will be filled with Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, there will be people who practiced many different religions up there. There will be those who considered themselves to be non-denominational. Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that we must be a certain religion to get into heaven. However, we are required to have a good, solid relationship with our LORD and Savior. This can’t be done without open, honest communication. This requires two things of us. The first is that we should pray. We should pray not only daily, but many times during the day. If you are a in a close relationship with someone and you talk to them for one or two minutes a day repeating the same old worn out lines, you probably won’t be in a close relationship for long. We must be careful that we don’t spend an obligatory minute prior to going to sleep repeating the same thing each night. Matthew 6:7 warns us against babbling or thinking that God will hear us if we ramble on using a lot of words.
When you sit down to talk with a friend, do you just try to use a lot of words, or do you have meaning conversation? Our prayers should be meaningful conversation. It should be what is on our hearts. Yes, God knows what is in our hearts, but He wants us to be honest with Him. He wants us to share our thoughts and feelings with Him. He wants us to bring our concerns to Him. He wants to know that He is appreciated. We are to bring our thanksgiving and praise to Him (Philippians 4:6). Have you ever felt really worried about something, but then you talked it out with a good friend and felt relieved. This is what prayer should do for us.
The second part of having a good, solid relationship with Jesus is listening to what He has to say. To do so, we must not only read our Bibles, but study our Bibles. We should read our Bibles daily, but we should not neglect attending Bible study classes and church sermons where we actually study the Bible.
Our prayer life with God should be much like our conversations with a close friend. If you are not so happy about the way things are going, know that prayer changes things. We will talk about this more in the upcoming week. But for today know that open, honest communication is required for any good, solid relationship. Our relationship with Jesus is no different. It requires communication. We are told to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
We just celebrated Father’s Day. Please know that your heavenly Father would love to hear from you. So, what are you waiting for? Call out to Him. He is waiting to tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Remember He holds your future. Why would you not stay in constant communication with Him and allow Him to guide you?
Have a great day!