It was ten years ago, but it still resonates with me. At the time, I was allowing situations in life that were beyond my control to effect/affect me in some very negative ways. I loved having God Time in my mom’s living room when it was cold outside. I remember, saying to my mom, as I was heading into the room to be alone, “I need to talk to God.” My mom’s response seriously changed my life. She said, “what if you talked with God instead of to God?” I can attest first hand how changing the preposition changes everything.
If I am only talking to God, (which left unchecked can become talking at God) I will never hear God. I would also hate for God to stop listening to me because all I was doing was talking to Him, (no matter how reverent and sincere) rather than with Him. I would hate for God to not be able to speak freely with me. I know first hand that when I do not allow Him to speak freely with me, He will use some external intervention to get my attention (I have too many of those stories to write nor would you want to hear them all!).
What does your devotional time look like? Do you talk to God or with God? It is my heart’s desire for you to know that Jesus wants to dialogue with you. He wants you to come to Him and talk/speak/dialogue with Him and He with you. As you dialogue with our Triune God, may you grow in His love, grace, forgiveness and mercy. When you hear the Lord calling to spend time and speak with you, may you respond like David, “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘LORD, I am coming'” (Psalm 27:8 NLT, emphasis mine).
Father God, thank You for the opportunity to come and talk with You because of Jesus’s work on the cross. Lord God, thank You for the gift of Your Presence and for never abandoning us and leaving us as orphans. Lord God, fill us with Your Holy Spirit, fill us with a desire to be with You above all else! Thank You Lord, for this reader/hearer. Thank You for their life. Help this reader/hearer endure what seems insurmountable. May this reader/hearer praise You Lord for all that You have done, are doing and will do. Lord God, be with this reader/hearer. May they draw near to You and dialogue with You and You with them. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.
Blue Collar Theologian 