Stay Tuned...

Helping us, stay “connected” has become big business in our culture. Smart phones, Facebook, and Twitter give us instant access to friends, family, work, and the world. However, how much time do we actually spend building meaningful face-to-face relationships? Let us go one-step further—how much effort do we invest in connecting with God?

What kind of relationship do you have with the Lord? Is He a distant Deity or your closest friend? In one way or another, everyone has an association with Him, whether it is acknowledge or not. Even those who say they do not believe in God are bound to Him simply because He created them. Sadly, the majority of people in this world have no idea who their Creator is.

Yet the Lord designed humankind to relate to Him. That is what it means to be, created in His image. We have been giving a spirit that can communicate with His Spirit. Just look at the earth and the heavens above. Although God is the Creator of all these things, He can never interact with a mountain or a star as He does with you. There is no higher honour that He could have given us than to make us in His image.

To help us comprehend what closeness with the Lord looks like, let us examine the writings of David, whom the Bible calls a man after God’s own heart gives a vivid description of His consuming passion for His Lord. David said in Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (NIV)”

The most obvious element in this Psalm is a thirsting and yearning for the Lord. Every other pursuit in life seems like a dry desert when compared to the fulfilment of an intimate relationship with God. Our souls and spirits will never experience satisfaction until we discover the joy of devotion to the only One who can fill our emptiness. David’s passion even had a physical element to it: “my flesh yearns for You”. At times, those who have a particularly close connection with the Lord experience an aching for more of Him.

Being close to God means communicating with him--telling him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing and understanding what he is saying to us. It is this second half of our conversation with God that is so important but that can also be so difficult. How do we hear his voice? How can we be sure that what we think we hear is not our own subconscious? What role does the Bible play? What if what God says to us is not clear? The key is to focus not so much on individual actions and decisions as on building our personal relationship with our Creator.

The most obvious way to become better acquainted with the Lord is through two-way communication. However, our prayers are often monologues rather than dialogues. We come to Him with our list of concerns, but how often do we take time to listen for His response? Although God delights in hearing our prayers, He also wants us to be still and listen to Him.

Since He speaks to us primarily through His Word, which is where we will most likely hear His voice. Try interacting with the Lord by praying as you read Scripture. Meditate on His words and ask Him questions: “What are You saying to me? How does this apply to my life?” Then be still and listen, giving Him time to speak to your spirit. Just remember that whatever He says will never contradict His written Word. The more you listen, the more you will hear His voice, and soon your time with Him will become your greatest delight.