Day 41 - Relationship

Today, in the stillness, I'm thinking about my relationship with God. How can you have a relationship with a being so high above you in intelligence, in love, in spiritual stature, in power, and someone you can't even see or hear or touch? I suppose the answer is that I just sense His presence with me and hear His voice speaking in my imagination. I have learned to exercise spiritual senses of seeing and hearing and touching and even smelling and tasting. And I know He's there with me, even if sometimes I can't sense His presence. As I read the Bible I learn about His character even if it is like looking through a dark window. 

So prayer is simply communicating with Him through songs, silence, just chatting, asking for things and saying sorry sometimes. It's about being ourselves. But you know, sometimes we haven't spent enough time with ourselves to know who we are, and God actually knows us much better than than we do. It's no good trying to hide anything! But that's the beauty of it: He loves and accepts me warts and all. 

I asked for something recently that didn't happen. I've been reading in John's Gospel (chapter 15) how Jesus says we'll receive what we ask for if we are 'abiding' in Him.....wonderful word, that.....it kind of means settling in a place and making it your home. I'm not worried that my prayer didn't get answered how I wanted it to be, because my relationship with the Lord is more robust than that. I know he has my best interests at heart and I put my trust in His judgment. There are many prayers that do get a 'Yes' from Him, and anyway, I just have to admit that I don't know everything..... yes, I know, it's hard for us to admit that sometimes! 

Once, when I was staying at a pastor's house, I heard him praying in his room, and for a few moments I eavesdropped on the landing! His prayer was so simple, coming from this spiritual giant, and I was quite taken aback. He was simply asking God to bless certain members of his congregation. Let's not complicate things... here are three facts: I don't know everything, He does, and He loves me. That'll do for me.