Your choice – To be close or distant?
By Cindy Tan, Malaysia
Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long (Ps 25:4-5).
The Psalms have a way of capturing the reality of our human experience. Often, we could find in this collection a prayer or praise that echoes our inmost being. In Psalm 25:4-5, David asked for instruction and guidance. He was talking to his God. That is what we call prayer. Alexander Whyte once said, “Prayer is a rising up and a drawing near to God in mind and in heart and in spirit.”
In this fast-paced world, it is very tempting to hurry through our prayers. We pray as quickly as we gobble up our breakfast or pop in our vitamins. However, we simply cannot do that in prayer, or we will miss out on what God is trying to say to us. Can you imagine rushing through conversations with your spouse, your children or friends, day after day? Such conversations will not establish close bonds; the relationship will remain distant.
However, when we learn to savor our communion with God, we can actually talk to Him about everything and anything, such as crying on His shoulder about the things that break our hearts, or even laughing with Him as we relate funny events to Him. In such an atmosphere, we express our love for Him and receive His love in return. There is relief and peace knowing that He has searched our hearts and shown us the way.
In prayer, it is important that we always pause and listen…and listen again because effective and fruitful prayer with God is two-way. By having this two-way conversation, we get to know the heart of God and gain the privilege of knowing His concerns. God can reveal things or His plans to us in bits and pieces or as a whole. Either way, we must be willing to obey His instructions. As we obey, He is able to use us as His voice, His hands and His feet to bless others with the gift of salvation or restoration.
May I encourage you to intentionally block out time to enjoy your conversation with God as David did. You too, can ask God to show you His ways, and to teach and guide you in His truth daily.
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS FeedRelated
the bible’s school of prayer
January 13, 2009 READ: Habakkuk 1:1-4 I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. —Job 7:11 To call God and us unequal partners is a laughable understatement. And yet by inviting us to do kingdom work on earth, God has indeed set up a kind of odd-couple alliance. God delegates work to human beings [...]
ODB: Ordinary Versus Extraordinary
April 2, 2012 READ: Romans 8:12-26 You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” —Romans 8:15 For more than a century, the pinnacle of golf has been to score 59—a score that had been recorded only three times in PGA Tour history before 2010. Then, in 2010, Paul Goydos scored [...]
“Can I pray for you?”
By Tracy Phua, Singapore As I flipped through the newspapers and saw the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in February, I would never have imagined that a disaster of that magnitude would afflict the inhabitants of Earth. But, again, just two weeks ago, the headlines read: “China Rushes to Help 10,000 People Injured in Powerful [...]
ODB: God incidents
February 9, 2010 READ: Hebrews 11:1-10 In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. —Philippians 4:6 In the normal course of providence, God works in and through creation, not despite it. For this reason, some answers to prayer are difficult to prove with certainty.“Only faith vouches for [...]
Christian Courses
Day Of Discovery
Discover The Word
Discovery Series
Help For My Life
My Utmost For His Highest
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
RBC Ministries
WarungSateKaMu
Manasociety
雅米
Hey why is it whenever I pray I dont hear God speaking to me?How do I have that 2 way conversation?
@steamedchicken…It’s a good thing you want to hear from God, not everyone get to hear voices, but God speaks through his word, he could speak through a friend or through the turn of events. Obedience is more important and willingness to please the spirit of God in our every action. Don’t be discouraged you don’t hear voices, be rest assured God hears your prayers and he is providing solutions.