In the message "By Our Love" we saw how Jesus desires for us to mature in our love for our Heavenly Father and for others. But as we continue our walk, we soon discover many decision points where we must choose between two paths...with only one being the path of God. At these critical moments, we must be able to recognize His leading; and if we have not spent time worshiping at His feet and communicating in prayer, we cannot expect to understand or even hear His guidance in our time of greatest need.
Communication is essential for maturing in any relationship. A marriage which lacks communication will slowly begin to drift apart. It's not uncommon for married couples to live together for the majority of their lives and yet feel like strangers because they have failed to spend the time required to really know and understand one another.
Our relationship with God is much the same. When we receive the gift of Salvation through faith in Jesus, we begin a life long relationship of love - a relationship which must be nurtured through fellowship and prayer.
Psalm 5:1-3
"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation."
David states that the morning is his dedicated time for prayer, his time to be alone with God, to share his heart and expectantly await God's direction. But God has not specified a preferred time. In fact, Paul encourages us to maintain a constant state of communion with God when he says to "pray continuously" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We ought to strive for communication which is regular and frequent; any time is the right time for prayer; any time is the right time to commune with the one you love!
Prayer must originate from a sincere heart, anything less becomes a ritual of meaningless words. We should be motivated by a desire to strengthen our relationship, to praise Him for His blessings and earnestly ask for His guidance, and to deepen the commitment of our love. We ought to value our time with God above anything else this world has to offer; "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" (Psalm 27:4).
Let's make sure our love doesn't fade. Let's set aside time each day to be alone with God, quiet time where we can hear His voice and begin to understand His character. Then, let's continue to commune and fellowship with Him throughout our times of busyness. Let's learn to dwell in His house all the rest of our days by maintaining continual and loving communication. |
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