Conversations with God

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” — Martin Luther

Praying was one of the first spiritual disciplines I learned as a new Christian. I didn’t ask anyone how long to pray, what to say in prayer, or what to do when I pray; I just started having a personal conversation with God. One on one, just talking to God like he is right there in the room with me sitting on the sofa. When you think about it, who wouldn’t want to spend time talking things over with the most powerful, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being in all the world?

“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” Psalm 147:5

Prayer takes action, a willingness to connect with the One who makes all things possible. As we connect our spirit with the spirit of God, the bonding produces spiritual healthiness which impacts all aspects of life.

Early in my walk with God, I happened upon Psalm 5:3, “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” This is how I figured out it is a good thing to talk to God in the morning before the day begins. If the Bible tells me to pray in the morning, I am going to pray in the morning! It was a no brainer, just talk to God about things, everything and anything. He wants us to be open and talk to Him.

Now waking up early, before everyone else was up, was hard at first. I wanted to sleep more, and it was a challenge, but the more I did it, the more I wanted to do it. Just Him and me, no backup singers or live band to distract, it’s my alone time with the Father talking things out. Jesus gave us an example of spending alone time with His Father in Mark 1:35 (TPT)

“Jesus got up long before daylight, left the house while it was dark, and made his way to a secluded place to give himself to prayer.”

Another realization during this time in my life was that God actually wanted to help with anything and everything. From the minutiae to the giant boulders weighing us down, He wants us to depend on His strength. My prayer time included praises for His faithfulness, along with a daily request for God’s presence in every detail from the tiniest to the biggest things in my life. I trust Him with everything!

“I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.” Psalm 121:1-2

Where do you pray? John Wesley kneeled beside his bed each day for two hours communicating with the Lord in prayer. He would say, “God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” Martin Luther would say, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.” Some say it is best to pray in a tent, “persistent and consistent!” For me, instead of praying for hours and hours alone in a room, I pray my way through the day. After my morning alone time with God, I invite him to join me in my car, into the grocery, during my workout classes, while conducting meetings, and throughout all activities of the day. Listening for His voice with an attentive ear helps bring a gentleness to the conflicts of the day.

God has become my closest friend and most trusted confidant. All my secrets are safe with Him. His directions provide the complete moral compass and perfect GPS. God shows my sin as a loving parent teaches their child, with love and forgiveness. Never guilting or shaming me. He still teaches how to trust, obey, lean, and wait on Him, during our heart-to-heart conversations. Some of our conversations showed my bad attitude, the chip on my shoulder, the victim mentality, and when these were revealed, things changed for the better. Nothing like unloading the past, our fears, stress and anxiety, to empty out our backpack and lighten the load.

My conversations are not limited to my walking around time, God sometimes wakes me to share something important. Sometimes it’s a warning, and sometimes a praise, either way I start to pray.

So, what is holding you back from that more intimate relationship with God? He knows you, even when you don’t want him to see. He cares for you, even when you want to run and hide. Cry out to Him for peace! The blind beggar Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus and was made whole! In Mark 10:48 (NKJV) we read “Many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more.” Bartimaeus refused to be quiet, and by being faithfully persistent, was healed. In our desperate times aren’t we all just beggars wanting to be healed?

Start the conversation. He will meet you right where you are. He hears you, so open your heart to Him. Remember, when you are taking Jesus into the places you go, you make those His places too!

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