In the world today communication is very important. In worldly terms – success is borne out of effective communication.
We learn communication from teaching institutions but primarily from our upbringing. This would not only be the spoken word but body language as well. We sometimes take these skills for granted – spare a thought for the visually and hearing impaired – how would our lives change if suddenly we could no longer see or hear?
Whenever there is success in a sports team, a business or a marriage, we will find effective communication. Better communication means better relationships and stronger relationships mean unity. Where there is unity there is strength.
Stop to look at ourselves for a moment – how are we communicating in our present circumstances? (work and personal relationships) Remember communication is not only the spoken word but body language as well!
We use communication for many different purposes. One such use is to find out information. In other words when we meet people for the first time we try to find out more about them – we ask questions. To those we already know, we ask deeper questions to find out more about them and we will also share some of our opinions with them – this so they will know more about us and we form a meaningful relationship.
Lastly, where we have emotional feelings for someone we tell them as much (“I love you”) and we get to know them more intimately as we learn to trust them with our emotions.
Looking at the spiritual world, God wants us to work in a similar manner. (Psa 105:4; Pro 8:17; Psa 46:10 and Jer 24:7). He gives us the tool of prayer to effectively communicate with Him. This truly is a gift from Him. Just as salvation is a gift from Him (we did nothing to earn it!) so prayer is also.
Prayer is really nothing more than speaking to God. It is a tool which we can use to strengthen our relationship with Him.
We need to spend time with God in order to know Him better. This means reading His word and also fellowshiping with other believers. In our private times with the Lord, as we do in the world, we must feel free to ask God questions to find out more about Him. We should also tell God how we feel about things – intimately. Jesus said “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He (the Holy Spirit) will take of Mine and will announce it to you. (Jn 16:15).
Some would say…. “Why would such an almighty God want to hear these things from me? He has many more important things to work on…..”. Also the scripture says that God knows all our needs before we even pray them (Matt.6:8) so why ask Him? The answer is simple…. God loves to hear from us and loves to communicate with us. His love for us is so great that He wants to be in constant communion with us. We know from our own experience, when you love someone you want to be with them – all the time!
Find time to commune with God and ask Him about the things that perplex you. Tell Him how you feel about some of the current situations in your life and tell Him the things in the deepest part of your heart. It’s good to tell Him you love Him.
All these things will draw us into a deeper place with God and help us to better communicate with Him. Be like the Psalmist David when he said “ O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Ps.63:1)
Better communication with God means we come to know Him better and therefore the better we are able to hear His Spirit within us. The better we hear His Spirit the more effective we can be in His service.
From: “…time with the Master…”