speak – Hope Walking

I tell my granddaughter brilliant profound things. She smiles, laughs, and walks away. Of course she does; she is 20 months old. She doesn’t understand what I am trying to say.

Do you believe God understands what you are trying to say?

The first important thing when we speak is to know who we’re talking to. When we pray your (your kingdom come; your will be done) what do we think this you is like?

Let’s stop now to consider who we believe God is. Get two pieces of paper and a pen. At the top of one sheet write “God” and at the top of the other sheet write “Jesus.” Begin with God and write a list of all the words you can think of that describe God. Take a couple minutes to do this. Then turn over that sheet, take your second sheet and write a list of words that describe Jesus.

STOP! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR TWO LISTS.

Now take your two lists and put them side by side. How are the words you chose for God different than the ones you chose for Jesus? How are they the same? Whom are you more comfortable praying to? If your picture of God is very different from your picture of Jesus, why might that be?

In the Gospel of John you have read this:

In the beginning was the Word….and the Word was God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Creator of the universe put on skin just like your skin and lived with folks just like us. He grew up in a town with neighbors who were nasty or nice. He had favorite foods and danced with friends to music they played. He had parents who loved him and younger brothers who thought he was crazy. He walked on rough roads that tired his feet. The bright sun made him squint and burned his cheeks. He grieved the deaths of his family and friends. He was disappointed when those he trusted let him down. He knows what it is like to be in skin like yours.

When you pray, God understands what you are trying to say.

I hope you will keep thinking about who God is. And I hope you will sign up to follow my blog, because I will be back next week ……..

A man and a woman are falling in love. Where do they want to go?

Dinner at a loud mall food court? Hanging-out at an interstate truck stop? Of course not. They head for a long walk on a deserted beach, or to the most remote table they can find in a quiet restaurant.

Passionate love seeks seclusion. Do you know that is how God asks to meet with you?

If you read through Matthew 6 a few times you will notice Jesus telling us to go to God “in secret.”

When you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Whenever you pray, go into your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Four times we read, “in secret.” The original Greek word is kryptos which means hidden. God wants to meet with you privately.

Imagine this: God, the creator of the whole universe shows up at your house and asks if he can speak with you alone. You take him into a back room, and after you both sit down he looks at you intently and says, “Tell me how you are doing. What is on your mind and heart? What’s bothering you. I have so much love for you, and I want to know.”

You may be thinking, “That’ll never happen. Why would the person running the whole universe want to talk to me?”

But, in truth, he does! Jesus said it. “Go into your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” When you pray in secret he is right there with you listening . Let that sink in!

I hope you read my first post on prayer. I suggested you read Matthew 6 a few times and look for repeating words. How many did you find? Please leave your finds in “comments.”

Here are some repeats I found: Father, reward, pray, forgive, worry, truth/truly, and life.

I will be back next week to talk about how we can, in a noisy world, pray in secret.

Tag: speak

Pray Like This…..”Your”

Pray Like This…..in Secret