Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees.  The Lord God called to Adam, “Where are you?”  He replied, “I heard you, so I hid.  I was afraid…”

Genesis 3:8-10

From the beginning of time it has been God’s desire and plan to have fellowship with us.  Even though we have been born as sinners and do not experience the same kind of fellowship that Adam did, it is great to know that this is God’s plan for us.  He desires to talk to us, and for us to listen to him.  Can you imagine what it would have been like to be Adam and live in the garden in God’s very presence?  Imagine what it would be like for God to call you by name and walk with you in the garden, enjoying a conversation about your day. Can you put yourself in that role?  It may be hard, but that is what God wanted for us from the beginning.  And even though we may not physically walk with him in the garden, we still can communicate with him throughout our day.

do you have your listening ears on?

That is a phrase I often heard in the elementary classrooms I was in.  But it is a great question to ask ourselves as we look to have communication with God.  Obviously those of us who have functioning ears can hear.  But do we always listen?  And what does it sound like to hear from God?  How can we be sure it is him we are listening to?

First of all, Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 says, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” We are commanded to listen to God.  So, if he commands us to do something, he will always make it possible for us to do.  1 John 5:14 tells us that.  Listening to his voice involves two different aspects.  One is spending time in his word.  When we spend time reading and meditating on the Word of God, his holy spirit opens our eyes (or should I say our ears) to his will.  We can read and understand his ways, and apply the scriptures to our lives.  The second way we hear him is by being attentive to his “voice” in our hearts.  God will speak (not audibly) to us in our inner man.  He will confirm truth to us, or warn us of evil, or give us his peace when we need it.  In fact, his spirit is always communing with our willing hearts.  Our problem is that we get so busy we fail to stop and listen to him.  This is a great ploy of Satan in our lives.  We can allow ourselves to become so overrun with activities (even good ones) that we never settle down to hear his still, small voice.  We miss what he has for us as we race through the frenzy of life.  Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God”, and in that stillness he communicates his truth into our lives.  How often do we miss it?

tell it like it is

Sometimes I think about the fact that God knows everything-even my thoughts-and I wonder just why I need to pray.  Why do I need to tell him something that he already knows?  As a parent, I know that even though I knew some of the needs of my children before they spoke them, I wanted to hear them.  I may have known that they were thankful for something, but I wanted to hear those words.  Why?  Because they are my children and I want to have connection to them.  I want them to need me and come to me.  I want them to thank me for the things that I do for them.  Not because I am insecure or need my ego to be fed.  No, it is because I love them and they are mine.  I want them to be tied to me all their lives.

That is how God feels about us.  He wants us to have that secure connection with him.  He wants us to talk to him.  But we need to realize that there is a prerequisite to having this communication with God.  It is that there is nothing, no sin, between us and him.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.”  Sin short circuits our fellowship with God, and gets in the way of our prayers.  We must make sure that our sin is confessed if we want our prayers to be unhindered.  (1 John 1:9 assures us that our confessed sin will be forgiven).

Now that our sin is out of the way, just what do we talk to God about?  In a word, “everything”.  God wants to hear about our day.  He wants to listen to our struggles and victories.  He wants us to ask him for our needs.  He wants to be in on everything.  Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”   And Mathew 7:7, 8 says “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for.  Keep on looking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”  So, sometimes his answers are not immediate, but they will come.  Our job is to talk to him.  His job is to answer in his time.  Our job is to listen to him.  His job is to speak to our hearts when we are quietly listening.  When all this is accomplished, we have a deeper relationship with him, and true communication.  After all, that was his plan all along.

prayer

Lord, we do want to talk to you.  Teach us to confess our sins so that nothing interferes with our prayers.  We want to listen to you.  Teach us to be still and quiet before you so that we can hear your Spirit in our hearts.  Lord, we wish it was not so hard for us to communicate with you.  Teach us to look to and long for the time that we will see you face to face.  With that hope, give us the grace to walk and talk with you daily.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.