TALK TO ME

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17  "Be joyful always; Pray continually."

These scriptures I think would do well in reverse also; for as you pray continually, you will be joyful always.  Praying is not demanded of us, but all through the Word, we are encouraged to pray, pray, pray.  This is the main source of communication with the Lord God.  He will  never demand of us to pray or to communicate with Him, but He so desires that we do.  This is one of the most important thing we can do each day, talk to our God.  Had He not thought it so important, you would not see so many examples of prayer in the Bible.  Jesus took the time to teach the disciples and the people to pray, giving us a prayer that teaches us all the beautiful ways to pray to the Lord.   "Our Father (call Him by Who He is; He is our Father, He is our Creator), Who art in Heaven (the beautiful home that has been prepared for us); Hallowed be Your Name (His Name, holy, consecrated, sacred...say His Name is reverence, in pure love); Your kingdom come (ask for the kingdom of God to come to us, now, this moment); Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (desire that the Lord's will be done here in your life as His will is in heaven, give your will unto the Lord for His use alone, to infiltrate it with His sovereign will); Give us today our daily bread (each day ask the Lord for what you need for just that day, stay in the present with the Lord, for He wants you to concentrate on just one day at a time and trust Him for all the coming ones); Forgive us our debts (our sins, our trespasses, cleanse us, Lord) as we forgive our debtors (if we wish to have our sins forgiven, we must forgive others; holding no grudges, no bitterness against them, but releasing them from their wrongs to us); And lead us not into temptation (ask the Lord to protect your minds, your hearts from yielding to temptation; to give you strength to withstand any temptations of the enemy); but deliver us from the evil one (the evil one, the one who will stop at nothing to come between you and the Father).

Praying continually is the best way to stay in tune with the Lord. I talk to the Lord all day long. You can call it prayer, at times it takes on the form of formal prayer, but the rest of the time, it is just talking to the Lord about what is going on, asking His healing for friends, sometimes for myself, asking Him to give strength where needed, providance.  The time I enjoy the most while talking to the Lord is just the time I spend in His presence, telling Him how much I love Him.  Thanking Him for the blessings He gives me, and for His precious love, are some of my most enjoyable moments.  He so loves just being visited with, having me spent time with Him because I love Him, no reason, but just because I love to be with Him.  You may think this is being overly spiritual but it really is not.  I just love the Lord and can't think of a better One to talk to about whatever enters my mind.  If I see the clouds in the sky, I might tell Him how pretty they are or what a gorgeous moon that is.  These are His creations, don't you think He might like to hear how we enjoy them.  You tell others how wonderful things are, try talking to the Lord and telling Him how you enjoy what He has done.  Those beautiful sunsets are not by accident.  I believe the Lord gives us such beauty to draw us into conversation with Him about them, to tell Him how wonderful they are, and to thank Him for giving us such beauty to look at, to enjoy.

The Lord is constantly speaking to His children "Talk to Me".  Do you not hear that sweet, gentle voice imploring you to visit with Him?  Don't wait until things get so rough and you hit your knees to pray and ask for the Lord to help you.  I am not saying He won't, He loves you.  But what a wonderful blessing you are missing when you don't talk to the Lord, when your prayers do not lift up to Him in an ongoing conversation of love and honor.  It honors the Lord when He realizes how you have chosen to pray and to talk with Him about everything.  Your needs, your desires, your prayers for others - He particularly loves to hear you pray for others, that you are interceding for others.  This is the heart He desires you to have; a heart for others over yourself.  What joy He feels when He sees His children loving each other so dearly as to pray for them.

I love You Lord.  I love to visit with You, to spend my days and nights with You.  To know You are with me when I awake in the night, knowing I can talk to You right then.  I don't have to wait for an assigned time of day to pray, I can lift my voice to You anytime I want to, it is Your will for me to do so, it is Your great pleasure for me to do so, anytime, anytime at all, You are waiting to talk with me.  Thank You Lord, my Father, for one more day.  Father, You know the urgent prayer of my heart tonight and I lift my friend to You.  I trust You completely Lord and always will.  You are everything to me, my Lord, my King, my Father, my most trusted Friend, my deepest Love, the Lover of my soul.  I will always talk to You, as I know You will always listen for my voice.

02-07-12