Thursday, January 7, 2010

Your appointments

Have you ever thought something or even told people something, and then felt the least bit insecure because you had never heard anyone else say that? Well, I have.  On a regular basis, I tell students that God is waiting to hear from them.  I tell them to remember that he is their Abba Father, and that they are his children.  Like any father, he loves to hear from his children, to listen to them, to talk to them and to do for them.

Now I have to say that all fathers are not like that; it is true that some children never know that kind of a father, but that is who our heavenly father is and what he is like.

When I talk to students about prayer, I encourage them to consider that their loving father is just waiting to hear from them, and if they are having trouble establishing meaningful prayer time, there is a solution.  They need to make appointments with God, to put it on their schedule and respect that appointment as if it is with the president or some other person they highly respect and would never ignore, never be late for an appointment with that person.  Because it is all true, what I have been saying:  God loves them that much and wants to hear from them; in fact, he is waiting to hear from them.

Now to the collateral support for all of that: Billy Graham put it this way, "Prayer is really a place; a place where you meet God in genuine conversation." 

Imagine, because it is real, God is waiting to hear from you, to enjoy fellowship with you, and he is waiting at the corner of prayer and affection.  He is waiting to hear your voice, whether you pray out loud or silently, in your mind, he is waiting, just as you might wait for someone in your office or living room, someone you care deeply for, someone you love and long to minister to.

So I do think that prayer is a place, that it is can be an appointment, but it is more.  God wants it to be more, and ever and ongoing communion between two who love each other.

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