[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 09/Aug/2020]
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face,as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp…(Exodus 33:11)
Two friends sat down in their favourite café, looking forward to sharing a coffee and a cake together, and chatting about their lives – all the ups and downs, the joys and the worries, the cares and concerns, and most of all, the news! They had both been so looking forward to it. But as their meeting went on, it was obvious to anyone looking on, that one of the two had started to slump a little, as the get-together had not quite turned out as well for one, as perhaps the other. The problem was that only one of the two was communicating, leaving very little space to pause for breath! Hence it was very much a one-way conversation.
The above account may be fictional, but how often does this scenario play out as we come to God in prayer? I know my prayer experience has so often looked like this in the past, rushing into God’s presence with a list, and rushing out again!
“Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. It’s a two-way communication. God’s voice is the most essential part of life’s journey. When we listen to God’s voice as we pray, it gives us confidence that He too is listening to us. So often we have been taught that prayer is petitioning our wants to God. We have not practised listening to Him nearly enough. He is eager to speak to us, but we are the ones who don’t know how to listen or claim to not have the time to do so.”
(Excerpt from an internet devotion on prayer.)
Learning to listen to God, as well as to speak to Him, has been a transformational part of my walk with Him. I don’t always get it right but know that when I do just sit in His presence and allow Him to speak to me, it makes such a difference. God wants to have a deep relationship with us, and this can only happen if we let Him speak into our lives. Of course, He can do this in other ways – through the Bible, in conversation with a friend, at church, through circumstances – but when we open our spiritual ears and listen attentively when we come to Him in prayer, we can often hear his heart for us, or for someone else, in a way that we may have otherwise missed. Sometimes, His voice comes as a strong impression, and other times as a small whisper, but over time we come to “just know” that God has spoken, as His voice becomes so familiar to us.
Recently, a friend was sharing something with me, and while I listened to her, I had an ear open to God too for her, asking what would really bless her at this time. When she finished speaking, I just literally said a few words that I felt God put on my heart, and she started to cry. Apparently, those words had touched her heart and, in her words, were “just what I needed to hear”. Did a little bit of healing happen that day for my friend? I believe it did.
There’s nothing wrong at all in bringing our requests to God in prayer – He absolutely loves it when we do! But, let’s remember to pause when we pray, and listen to what He has to say to us too.
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Contributed by Lesley Edwards; © the Author
