Have you ever had a conversation with someone who seems to be waiting for you to finish a thought just so they can chime in? They might hear you, but they aren’t truly listening to you. Sometimes I wonder if this is how we treat God. We get so busy talking to him about our problems, our concerns, and our lives, that we never really stop to really listen to what he wants to tell us.
Talking to God is a wonderful thing—He really does want to hear from us. After all, what builds a relationship more than anything else? Talking! In I Thessalonians 5:17, the Bible says we should “pray without ceasing,” but who has time for that? I don’t think God expects us to literally pray all day every day, but I believe He wants us to always have Him close to our minds and hearts. And part of that mindset of prayerfulness is to be sensitive to listen to Him when He speaks.
Has a friend, family member, or even acquaintance ever popped into your mind for no real reason? Perhaps that’s God’s way of asking you to pray for that person. Have you ever been ready to go somewhere or do something and you suddenly feel uneasy? You might credit that to intuition, but I think that’s God nudging you. I might never understand the reasons behind the nudges or the prompts, and that’s okay. I just pray that my heart remains open to hearing Him, even if I don’t always understand all His plans.
I also sometimes wonder if God speaks to us in the clearest ways when we’re broken. There have been times I didn’t know what to say except “Jesus” and I felt like He swooped in and filled in the blanks of my prayer. We don’t have to pray some elaborate prayer. We don’t even have to know what to ask Him. We can simply fall at His feet and He’ll hold onto us. There are times my girls might be hurt or sad and come to me for comfort. Some truly special bonding happens when they sit in my lap, I wrap my arms around them, and they cry into my chest. Of course I hate to see them upset, but in those moments, they’re more open to feeling Mommy’s heartbeat and hearing Mommy’s voice. God is our good father and he wants us to run to Him when we’re hurt or broken, too. And if we do that, we can experience His love and comfort and hear His voice in a way we may never have heard before.
The Bible never promises we won’t go through uncertain times as Christians. But when we have the Lord as out confidant and our comforter, we can face our future with peace. He can speak to our spirit in a way that gives us reassurance and guidance—and that’s something we all need to hear.