Conversations With God - 1

Conversation

. . . something that happens between two persons who have something to say to each other.  It is different from an announcement or a lecture (in which one person simply informs the other about something) in that it assumes mutual sharing.  It can be superficial and "safe" (the exchange of news or information without much "personal" content involved), or it can close and "risky," at those times in which we share not just what we "think" but also how we feel, and who we really are.  It is at those times that we actually speak not just at each other, but in response to each other.

When we are invited to pray, it is that second kind of conversation that we are invited into.  One that goes beyond the sharing of information, to the sharing of persons.  And it is as we experience God's love to us as we enter into that kind of conversation with Him, and then allow ourselves to become more fully awake to and aware of God's loving presence in our lives, that we find ourselves responding.  Not only to what it means to be loved that way, but by also discovering in the overflow from that realization, the ability to love others in ways that mirrors that. 

Far from the "name it and claim it" theology of popular culture, or the idea that prayer is a way to get God to do things for us, is the invitation to come into God's presence and be embraced and changed.  This is to pray, as Jesus taught us to, in a way that acknowledges God's awesomeness, and prays for a fuller realization of God's Kingdom and His purposes in our lives right now.  Now that's a conversation!

So then, how do we go about this?  How do we pray in meaningful ways?  How do we get beyond the distortions to real conversation?  How do we know we are really connecting?  And then, there is the text in 1 Thessalonians, that says we not only need to do this, but we need to do it continually.  Continually.  How does that work?

 That is what Pastor Jon explores with us in this series, and in this first message in his series on prayer.  Conversations with God.  What are the questions, concerns, areas, you would like to explore more fully about prayer?  Perhaps this series can be a good time to explore those and find some helpful insights? If you would like to listen to the sermon again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.  

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