Thoughts for Life: #1 friendship With God

~ Alvin Vandergriend- Human beings are created to live in fellowship with God. We are meant to have and to enjoy life in relationship with God. Without this relationship we are like branches cut off from a tree, like toasters not plugged in.

Prayer is the way we get in touch with God and the way we keep in touch with Him. I used to think of prayer as a spiritual exercise, a discipline that had to be worked at. Through the years, however God has taught me to see it more and more as the talking part of a friendship. One of the early church fathers called it 'keeping company with God." I like that! [Google image, Love to Pray]

Several years ago as I tried to define prayer, God led me through a series of steps. At first I thought of prayer simply as talking with God. Then, the idea of relationship emerged, and I began to see that prayer is the talking part of a relationship with God.

Months later my definition changed again, and I began to understand that prayer is the talking part of a love relationship with God. But there was still more I had to learn. I came to see that prayer was the talking part of the most important love relationship in our lives.

With that addition I thought that I finally had it, but some years later God added one more element. Then the definition, a definition that I still live with today, came out as: "Prayer is the conversational part of the most important love relationship in our lives, our love relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Sometimes people ask how much time they should try to spend in prayer each day. I used to suggest that 20 minutes of formal prayer a day was a minimum. I reinforced that by reminding them of the many things that need to be included in a prayer, and then I added that 20 minutes a day was only about 2 percent of our waking hours each day.

Now when people ask about the time they should spend in prayer, I simply tell them they should spend enough time to build a good relationship. And, considering that the relationship we are talking about is life's most important love relationship, that means plenty of time.

What does God do for those who relate to Him in love? The psalmist put it well when he said, 'You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

What's the good of prayer? Just this! It helps us to grow into and live out of that most important of all love relationships. But, of course, it's only as good as we make it. So, what good are you making of it?

Let's pray-

Father, show us how we can make our prayer life a deeper relationship with You. We praise You for Your love and Your readiness to have a love relationship with us. Our desire is to deepen this relationship, and to find joy in Your presence, that gives us eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

Thank You for Your generosity in making these gifts available. Help us to set aside ample time with You each day.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Our new prayer study-

Love to Pray- 40 Day Devotional for Deepening Your Prayer Life

"We pray, God listens; God speaks, we listen. Simple, yet so complicated; complex, yet so simple. God is in the business of changing lives. I am so grateful that He has changed mine through this book." — Danell Czarnecki, Crosspoint Church

Today's Bible verses-

Psalm 16:11 "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

Romans 8:26 "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words."

Quotes for today-

~ John Wesley- "Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of soul; take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole from strength to strength; go on, wrestle and fight and pray, tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day."

~ Bill Johnson- "You can't afford to have thoughts in your mind that don't line up with the thoughts in His [Christ's] mind."

~ Ann Voskamp- “Nurse resentment and you are never released… It’s only forgiveness that gives a future . . . Because it’s always in the forgiving that wrongs begin to right.”

Words of wisdom-

~ Do you have a desire to find God Today? What will it take to get His attention? What you may not understand is, He is with you already, and longs for your attention. His Word, the Bible, tells us that His Eye is on us. He created us individually in our mother’s womb and has kept a vigil over us since then. Let’s give our attention to Him today, receive His love, and be thankful that we can know Him.

Today's question-

What do our histories and "bricks" tell us?

The gifts God's given us are to help us bless others, but when we have "bricks" of bad memories that weigh us down from our past, we are hindered from accomplishing much of what He wants us to do.

Our pasts can cause us to have emotional scars that need to be brought up and dealt with. James 5 in the Bible, encourages us to confess our faults to one another, (those who we love and trust), so we can admit them and release them into the Lord's care. This way we can be free from burdens from the past.

The question of whether or not we measure up to someone's expectations, as well as things we've said and done, are "bricks" we need to deal with, which may be weighing us down. Our prospective for our future depends upon how we handle these, and whether or not we release them to the One who can handle them for us, to be rid of them permanently.

Our history has defined where and who we are now, but with the Lord's help, it doesn't have to define our future. If we'll give it all to Him, wanting to be rid of those bricks completely, He'll change our attitudes and thinking to where we'll move forward and accomplish the good future He's designed for us.

~ Martin Wiles- "The trouble with burying sin—in whatever form we try—is that it messes up life. If I bury unforgiveness, anger, selfishness, guilt, or sexual immorality, they have a way of uncovering themselves in ugly psychological, social, or emotional episodes. Not only do they mess up life, they also mess up my relationship with others—especially with God.

Confession means to have the same mind. So whatever God thinks about sin or my decisions, I should think the same thing. When I confess, I recognize my need for help—and from Someone who has the power to give it. I’m not perfect. I need a Savior. Everyone does.

And when I confess daily, it keeps the lines of communication open between me and God, which is important for healthy living. Confession keeps things above board while burying keeps them…well…buried."

Upcoming posts

#2 Prayer Starts With God

22nd Thursday's post by Alvin Vandergriend

Know His Voice

24th- Saturday's post by Julie Schwab

#3 Celebrate God Through Prayer

27th- Tuesday's post by Alvin Vandergriend

#4 Does God Need Our Prayers?

29th- Thursday's post by Alvin Vandergriend