Communicating with God

“Prayer is the natural outgushing of a soul in communion with Jesus. Just as the leaf and the fruit will come out of the vine-branch without any conscious effort on the part of the branch, but simply because of its living union with the stem, so prayer buds, and blossoms, and fruits out of souls abiding in Jesus.” -Charles Spurgeon, Encouraged to Pray: Classic Sermons on Prayer

God gives us what we need when we need it. And of course we can say that “all you need is love” to quote The Beatles, but how exactly is love expressed between us and God. There are many ways we can mention and unpack, but let’s talk about communication.

All relationships are built on trust and communication. God desires relationship with us. Communication between us and God is through prayer. Sometimes there are audibles from God or even mental nudges, but the best way to hear Him speak back to us is through His Word, the Bible. This is how we understand who He is and what His character is like.

“The more we learn about God, pray to Him, and read His communication back to us (His Word aka the Bible), the more we trust Him and this flourishes our relationship with Him.”

We hear about faith all the time when it comes to God, the Bible, religion, and spirituality, but what about the word trust? We don’t hear that as much, but it’s one of God’s characteristics. He is trustworthy. Below are just some scripture verses validating that.

Scriptures On God’s Trustworthiness And Faithfulness:

The works of His hands are truth [faithfulness] and justice; all His precepts are sure [trustworthy]. Psalm 111:7 NASB

As surely as God is faithful [trustworthy], our word to you has not been Yes and No.
2 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 2 Samuel 7:28 ESV

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Hebrews 11:11 ESV

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 1 Peter 4:19 ESV

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 ESV

Do you have faith in God? Do you trust God? If you have faith, this means you have trust in God or at least you trust in your hope of God. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Even though we have not seen God, we still are able to have faith which means that we have trust. We trust that God is true in all that the Bible says He is and that He will be faithful to all the promises mentioned in scripture, especially the one pertaining to salvation.

So, let’s bring it back to communication with God. When we pray, we trust that He hears us and, by hope, will respond to us in some capacity. Of course we ought not pray to God as if He is a magic genie in a bottle. That’s not how God works. Prayers are answered when the outcome gives Him glory and bring glory back to Him, not us. He also answers prayers that will do us good. Romans 8:28 says that, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

If we unpack that verse, we must bear in mind that when we pray, we ought to trust that God will be working for our good, if and only if we love Him, and are praying for things that bring Him glory according to the purpose by which He has for us to carry out His plan and mission on Earth. Essentially this means that if we pray for a million dollars or a shiny new car, sure that would do us a world of good, but at what cost for our souls and for what, or who’s, purpose.

And how would getting those things, or fill in the blank for anything really (even bodily healing), carry out His mission here on Earth to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19)? That is God’s primary focus for us. When Paul wrote his letters to the Romans, and said that in 8:28 about “those who are called according to His purpose”, that Matthew 28:19 commission from Jesus is what he was referencing.

So, is having nice things or asking for healing bad? No not at all. In fact, Jesus even said that if we ask for anything in His name He would do it. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:13-15 See the stipulations there? He said “so that the Father may be glorified” and “if you love me, you will keep my commandments”.

The point in all this is that we must reconcile whom are we truly serving with the things we have and want so that all our stuff will then harmonize to what we actually need and give God glory in it. Our prayers should reflect a heart after God’s will and the end goal of each prayer ought to be to bring glory to Him alone.

Does us getting a million dollar, a new car, and big house give God glory and make us love Him more? By love I mean make Him Lord of your life in such a way that you desire His will and never your own. I’m sure it could to some capacity, but the issue lies in what is in our hearts. God is always after our hearts and wants us to love Him and others. He knows that we can only serve Him to our greatest capacity when we open up (surrender) our lives, our heart, our will to Him and trust Him completely. Talk to Him. Communicate with Him. Pray. Read. Listen.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Do you trust God?
How much do you trust God to give you what you need?
Who’s perspective are you viewing your needs?
Are your prayers to God seeking His will so that He gets the whole glory?
Are you regularly communicating with God by praying so He can hear you and reading the Bible so you can hear Him?

“Lord, I come to you in meditation and prayer. I ask that you never turn from me. Never let me lack communion with you. Let my life be filled with all the beauty that abides in you and let these things guide me. If I have wronged you or your laws in anyway, even in 'thought', please forgive me. You know deep in my heart I want and I try to do good but I fall short. At times, I despise my flesh; I know what I have to do. I want to do it but I choose not to & I'm sorry.”
-Jose R. Coronado, The Land Flowing With Milk And Honey

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