HONEST COMMUNICATION – Part 2 of 2

The prayers of godly people recorded in Scripture are examples of straightforward honesty. When they were afraid, they told God about their fears. When they doubted, they doubted out loud in front of God. When they were angry, they let it rip. Under the reign of the evil King Jehoiakim, the nation of Judah was declining rapidly during a time of injustice, immorality, and violence. The prophet Habakkuk was convinced God wasn’t doing what He should and cried out, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen? Or cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ but You do not save! Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong?” (Habakkuk 1:2-3) You could call that a gut-level honest prayer. Habakkuk wasn’t the only one to talk honestly with God. Moses, Gideon, and Elijah all questioned God. Job even cursed the day God made him and said, "I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 10:1). Jesus never criticized prayers that were honest, only those that were long and showy…

All of us desperately need God’s guidance, leadership, and affirmation. We need to hear from God. As we increase the frequency of our prayers, and communicating with God becomes part of our everyday lives, we begin to sense that communication is always two-way. Frequent, honest prayers open our hearts and minds to God. In genuine prayer, we relate to God in a conversation. 

-- Craig Groeschel in “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist”

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HONEST COMMUNICATION – Part 1 of 2

My best definition of prayer is simple: prayer is communicating with God. This straightforward concept can help put us at ease, especially when we realize that communication involves more than just talking. We communicate through music and body language and sculpting and painting and facial expressions and dancing and writing -- even macramé! We each have our favorite modes of communication, and God is fluent in all of them. So if talking isn’t your thing, you can still be good at praying.

Whether you pray by talking or by some other mode of communication, God most enjoys the prayer that is natural, direct, and simple. One of the most important qualities of effective communication is gut-level honesty. God hates it when we wear masks to the meeting, when our prayers become showy and inauthentic. Here are Jesus’ instructions: “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full… And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:5,7) 

-- Craig Groeschel in “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist”

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THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD

Jesus Christ came and was clothed in human flesh to let us know who God is and what God is really like. In Jesus Christ we see that God is approachable, and to a degree knowable by creatures like us. God can understand our condition because God has made us. We can know God because God has been revealed in Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:15-16 says it so well: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in heaven and earth were created, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through Him and for Him.” In Jesus we have the perfect reflection of God. While the creator of this vast universe may seem distant and unknowable, we can see, understand, and know Jesus of Nazareth. While it may seem too much to ask the Maker of the complex creation to hear us as we pray, we remember Jesus listened to everyone. So we, you and I, can know the One who knows us and we can communicate with the One who is author of all.

-- Reuben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

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LIVING IN MY PRESENCE

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength;…”  (Habakkuk 3:17-19a NIV)

Remember that Joy is not dependent on your circumstances. Some of the world’s most miserable people are those whose circumstances seem the most enviable. People who reach the top of the ladder career-wise are often surprised to find emptiness awaiting them. True Joy is a by-product of living in My Presence. Therefore you can experience it in palaces, in prisons… anywhere.

Do not judge a day as devoid of Joy just because it contains difficulties. Instead, concentrate on staying in communication with Me. Many of the problems that clamor for your attention will resolve themselves. Other matters you must deal with, but I will help you with them. If you make problem-solving secondary to the goal of living closer to Me, you can find Joy even in your most difficult days. 

-- From “Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence” by Sarah Young

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OUR ASKING AND GOD’S ANSWERING

“You parents -- if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.”  (Matthew 7:9-11 NLT)

Although prayer has been defined as communion with God, aspiration after the highest things, Stopford Brooke, an Irish clergyman who lived from1832 to 1916, was right when he insisted that prayer, in its plainest meaning, is a petition addressed to God.  When Jesus laid the duty of petition upon His disciples, He went on to assert the reasonableness of our asking and God's answering.  Jesus argues along the line of reason that, if an earthly parent does the best in his power for his children, the Almighty, All-Wise, and All-Loving Father, of which human love is only the shadow, will do better still for His great family; and therefore our Master teaches that we ought everywhere to pray, without fear, with hope, and without doubt.

-- Adapted from Horace L. Hastings (1852-1922) in “The Great Christian Doctrines”

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DRAWING CLOSER TO GOD

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  (Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV)

God has provided prayer as the means of communicating directly with Him. Christ, the High Priest and Mediator, has made it possible for all Christians to come “boldly to the throne of grace.” Prayer may take many forms of expression, some of which are adoration and praise, thanksgiving, confession, and supplication. Each of these enables you to draw closer to God. Because you have the potential of two-way communication with God, be careful not to neglect your time with Him. Regular times alone with God for the purpose of fellowship are vitally necessary. 

-- From “Growing Strong in God’s Family”

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