Amen is not the end…

When we pray we talk to God.  We praise Him, confess our sin, thank Him for our blessings, and bring our needs and wants to Him.  We talk and then say amen and that is the end of our prayer.  Or is it?

Are we talking to ourselves or are we talking to God?  Is prayer only talking or is it talking with Someone?  When we talk with someone we talk and they listen then they talk while we listen.  Is it not the same with God?   Does it not stand to reason that when He listens to us He thinks about what we are saying and may have a response?

There is a place in prayer for us to listen to God’s voice.  This may be the harder part of prayer…listening.  Let us not be like the Israelites who, when at Mount Sinai, were afraid to hear God speak and said to Moses,

“Speak to us yourself and we will listen.  But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
Exodus 20:19 niv

If we are indeed His people we listen to His voice.  Because He is God we can know that He actively listens and will respond.  We can expect to hear His voice.  But do we want to hear it?

What if He says something we do not expect or like?  Maybe He has a reprimand to give us.  He may tell us to go when we want to stay or stay when we want to go.  Perhaps he will tell us to do something new that frightens us or to continue doing something that has become uncomfortable.  What He has to say to us may be disappointing because it is not what we want to hear.  His words are hard at times because He will not be compromised.

We can be certain that whatever we hear from Him is spoken in love, mercy, righteousness, compassion, and truth.  What we hear from Him can only be good, though, we do not always understand the message or see the good in it.  However, we can trust that there is only goodness in Him.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 niv

We may hear words of discipline, words of affirmation, or words of guidance. Whatever the words they are meant to be heard and heeded.  Jesus said,

“My sheep listen to my voice.  I know them and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
John 10:27-28 niv

We are blessed to have a Good Shepherd who in His love for us speaks so we will know His will, follow Him, and have eternal life.

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I wonder, with my endless chatter and quick amen, what awesome words of His I miss.

Just wondering…

 

 

Finding God

When Paul was in Athens, waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him, he was disturbed to see the city full of idols.  He talked to the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue and to the people in the marketplace, discussing with them idols and the worship of them.

Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, members of the Court of Areopagus, the judicial body with authority over civil and religious life in Athens, were interested in what Paul had to say.  These men spent most of their time talking about or listening to new ideas and took Paul to a meeting of the Areopagus because he was speaking of things “strange to their ears and they wanted to know what they meant”.

This was the perfect opportunity for Paul to tell them about the one true and sovereign God.  In Athens there was an altar to an “unknown god” so Paul began to tell them about this unknown god, who He is and what He has done.  He told them about the God “who made the world and everything in it…that He gives to all people life and breath and every thing”.  Paul told them God puts each person in the place they need to be when they need to be there “so they would seek God in the hope that they would feel their way toward Him and find Him”.  And he told them “Yet, He is not far from each one of us”.

It is interesting that Paul tells these men, philosophers, who study and ponder, discuss and debate, everything with everyone, that what they are doing is part of a plan, God’s plan.  They are just where they need to be at just the right time so in their searching for answers to life’s questions they will find those answers by finding God.  And he tells them that God is not in some far off place or time but near them.

What Paul said to the men of the Areopagus he says to us today. When we are looking for God going from place to place, teacher to teacher, study to study, discipline to discipline, maybe what we need to do is be still and quiet where we are for a time.

…and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:26b-27 niv

God is everywhere. Not just the desert or mountain top, forest or seaside, classroom or church.  He is where we are all the time.

I wonder at all the time I spent going to places and events  looking for God, when all along He was right there with me…waiting.

Just wondering…

 

Not just knickknacks

Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land Moses had a few things to say to them. He reminded them of what life was like in Egypt and how they lived while in the wilderness. He wanted them to remember the past before they went into the future.

Moses wanted them to think about all that had happened that they witnessed or had been told about. He wanted them to remember all God had done. It was important that they remember, and acknowledge, all the miracles that had occurred, how God protected them and provided for them. They needed to be reminded that even when they wandered away from God, He never left them. 

Moses also reminded the people of the commandments, decrees, and laws of God.  Ignorance would be no excuse.  They were told and knew what was expected of them.

This very day God, your God, commands you to follow these rules and regulations, to live them out with everything you have in you.

Deuteronomy 26:16 msg

The people listened to Moses and they agreed to do as the Lord commanded.

You’ve renewed your vows today that God is your God, that you’ll live the way He shows you; do what He tells you in the rules, regulations, and commandments, and listen obediently to Him.

Deuteronomy 26:17 msg

In making this declaration, renewing their vows, the Israelites promised God that they would listen to His voice and do as He commands, and they would be obedient. Like the Israelites preparing to enter the Promised Land we make promises and declarations when we become followers of Christ. We promise that we will walk in His ways and listen obediently to Him. And like the Israelites we are given the commandments, decrees, and laws. We have His Holy Word and His Spirit to remind us. Perhaps because of this we have even less excuse for our wayward ways.

And today God has reaffirmed that you are dearly held treasure as He promised, a people entrusted with keeping His commandments, a people set high above all other nations that He’s made, high in praise, fame, and honor: you’re a people holy to God, your God. That’s what He promised.

Deuteronomy 26:18-19 msg

And like the Israelites we are His treasured possession; but we can know this more assuredly because we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. We are a holy people of God, our God. What God promised has been delivered!

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Is it not a wonder that we are not just some silly knick-knack in God’s house, we are a treasured possession.

I wonder if when the Lord looks at me if He thinks I am taking good care of His treasure?

I wonder, where is my dust cloth and polish? I know for certain there are dust bunnies and cobwebs…

Just wondering…