I feel as though the Lord has called us all into a season of getting to know him better. This of course requires communication. But first of all, nobody likes the person who dominates a conversation and doesn’t let the others speak. And secondly nobody wants to be the person who rambles on but never gets a response because that feels as though the receiver is uninterested in what you have to say. True communication is a continual flow of back and forth. This is the same with God, we are always taught that whatever we ask of him, he will provide. This of course is true; he will always provide for us even to the point that we shouldn’t worry about things because we know he already has his hand on them. Matthew 6 is a beautiful reminder that if God dresses the lilies, he will clothe us and if he feeds the birds, we are more valuable to him than they are so he wouldn’t let us be hungry. But what about talking to God when you don’t really need anything? What about spending time with Him just to know Him better?
One of my best friend’s fathers is a pastor and I always will remember this example that he used about communicating with God. He was talking about he and his wife and how when he met her, of course he didn’t know her but the more time they spent on the phone and the more time they spent together the closer they grew and the better they knew each other. Our relationship with God is exactly the same. When we are first introduced to Christ, it’s like most relationships, the best thing ever. We are meeting this person who is seemingly perfect. We love the way they make us feel and we can’t get enough time with them. The thing is, in most physical relationships those feelings, at least, calm down a bit and in some relationships, they go away completely. But with God, the more time you spend with him the better He gets. The more you talk to him the more you fall in love with this being who not only gave your life but literally saved your life as well. But as we spend more time speaking to Him, we must also spend more time listening to him. This can be difficult at first, but I want to try to give some practical help to make his voice clearer.
First, spend more time talking to God. The more you talk the more his voice becomes familiar. If my wife were to call me right now from a different number that I didn’t have saved, by the time I heard her say ‘hey” I would know who I’m talking to because her voice is one I would recognize instantly because I hear it so often. We often think of talking to God as being stretched out in the floor crying and sweating and all that good stuff, and while that is certainly necessary in some seasons and some situations, God hears us even when we are walking around throughout our day. I have a post coming up in about a week or two that is about God hearing us where I will go into more detail but the same way our eyes light up when we see that a significant other is calling, God is that excited to hear from us and the same way that we can sit on the phone for hours talking about nothing, God will stay on the line as long as you will. The next thing that we must do is eliminate the distractions.
I feel like every week I share something that goes on in my household or one of my personal interests, so here is this week’s; I love cars. I always have, I couldn’t wait to drive as a teenager even to the point that when my father bought a riding lawn mower, I became that much more interested in mowing the yard. I love sports cars, trucks, and even recently have acquired the itch for a motorcycle. One of my favorite cars though, is the old box style Chevrolet Caprice and Impala. I actually own one of these cars and I love it. Mine is white with these bright red bench seats. This car is 43 years old so there is no power anything. One feature that I didn’t love though was the radio. Past not having Bluetooth or even an auxiliary connection, it was the old style with the tuning dial, and you had to get the needle just right for the station to come in clear. You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with hearing from God?” the reality is that there is static all around us. We have work to think about, and children’s sporting events, and serving in our church, and whatever else your day to day consists of all competing for your attention and just like the radio, you must be intentional about getting your ear tuned just right to block some of the noise. I heard a pastor say recently that God is never not speaking to you it’s just that sometimes we don’t hear.
This week I challenge you to quiet your surroundings and give God space to speak to you and for you to hear him. And in doing that, do it as much as you can whether it be a set time in the early morning or late evening or when you are riding in your car make sure you are speaking with God and that his voice becomes familiar to you
