“Have you talked to God about your problems as much as you have telling other people?” is a statement I recently read. I like it. It is a good question for Christians to answer because your answer is a sign of the health of your prayer life.
We are encouraged to pray continually (1 Thes. 5:17) and unload all our anxieties on God (1 Pet. 5:7). Do you talk to God about what is bugging you, bothering you or annoying you before you rattle on about it to your spouse, friends or co-workers? Do you feel as comfortable sharing the same information to God as you do your confidants? If it is easier to tell others more than you tell God, is it possible you have a perception problem of God? It may be difficult to talk to God if we don’t view Him as someone that wants to hear our every word.
God is a person, and he desires to walk and listen to us. Do you remember what God was described doing in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ran to hide from Him? God was walking in the Garden (Gen. 3:8). Adam and Eve were accustomed to having God walk among them. God wants to be around His people. Jesus is a reflection of this since he is the full reflection of God (Col. 2:9). God is not aloof, unconcerned or too busy for us. God “wants to be bothered” with our daily details.
You talk to others because you think they will listen. Sometimes they offer feedback, sometimes they don’t. God has a way of answering that we don’t have figured out. If we remember that God is a person, that He wants to hear from us more than anyone else and that He does respond to our prayers (just not always in the same ways as our flesh and blood friends), then we have a good foundation upon which to build a stronger, more consistent prayer life. God is a person, too. Take the time to talk to Him.
