| Have a Conversation with Your Creator |
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| By Rick Warren — Aug 27, 2015 |
“I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:1-2 NLT, second edition)
It took me a while, but I finally figured out that this marriage thing is about communication. I discovered that on the days that I had deep, soul-communication with my wife Kay — not “Hi. How are you? I love you. See you later” — that’s when our relationship would grow. And on those days when we have little or no communication, our relationship decays. A relationship is never standing still. It’s either growing or decaying.
The same is true with God. On the days when you have deep, significant talks with God, your relationship grows. On the days when you have little or no conversation with God, your relationship decays. It’s that simple.
When you really love somebody, you don’t just want to spend time with him. You want to talk with him. Remember when you first fell in love as a teenager and your parents got upset because you were always on the phone? You talked and talked and talked because you were getting to know that person. Communication is how you get to know others.
What do you talk about if you want to express love to God? Anything that you’d talk to your best friend about: your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your anxieties, the things you’re embarrassed about, the things you’re proud of, the things you’re ashamed of, your goals, your ambitions, your hurts, your cares — every part of your life.
The Bible says in Psalm 116:1-2, “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (NLT, second edition)
If you don’t feel close to God because your Christian life has become routine, dull, joyless, and lifeless, there’s a simple remedy: Start talking to God again.
Prayer is not some duty that you have to do. It’s a privilege that you get to do. You get to talk to the Creator of the universe! He’s waiting on you to have a conversation with him so that your relationship can grow.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>>
Talk It Over
- How often do you talk to your best friend? Is it more or less often than you talk to God?
- Have you ever tried praying Scripture to God? Why do you think it’s important?
- If prayer is a conversation, how have you responded to what God has been saying to you?
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| | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. --John 1:1 | |
| | What does “the Word was God” in today’s verse mean? It means “face to face with God.” It describes the most intimate kind of communion and union.
Christ left the intimacy and “face-to-faceness” with God… He left the glory of heaven and the majesty of God’s presence… and came to earth.
Think about that for a moment. Jesus left heaven to be born in a stable… to walk among men on the dirty streets of Galilee. He lived and died and rose again as a human being.
Isn’t it amazing that God would walk among us? But why would He do this?
He did it because He loves you and me… and He wants you and me to come into a personal relationship with Him. But because we are separated from God by our sin, we can't know God or experience God or get near to God in His absolute holiness. So God came near. He came down in the person of Jesus Christ and paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross.
So let me ask you, how have you responded to Jesus Christ in your life?
If you’ve accepted Him your personal Lord and Savior, I praise God that you’ve made the best decision you will ever make. But if you haven’t made this decision, what’s stopping you from accepting God’s free gift of eternal life right now?
God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross. |
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