January 6
Genesis 18:1-21:7
God shows his desire to enter a relationship with his creation in innumerable ways in the Bible. We have seen God enter covenants to express his desire for relationship, and in today’s reading we see God's willingness to enter into conversation with us. When God announced that judgment would fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham seeks to intervene by entering a dialogue with God. He asked God if there are fifty righteous people could the cities be saved, and God answered yes. Abraham then goes on to ask God if the cities could be saved if there were forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, and finally ten. Abraham has the audacity to converse with God about the possibility of salvation for the cities. He boldly goes to God with the seeming freedom to ask anything and ask repetitively.
This same attitude should be ours. Jesus is our great high priest, so we can "approach God's throne of grace with confidence" (Hebrews 4:16). God wants to hear from us, he longs to converse with us, and he sent his Son to make this possible. So we should pray continually, running into the arms of our Heavenly Father who longs to speak with us.
Father God, help me to continually come to you in prayer. I thank you that through the death, resurrection, and continued work of Jesus I can come to you with confidence that I will be heard. Thank you that you hear and respond. Amen.
What are some of the things that keep you from conversing with God more regularly?
God shows his desire to enter a relationship with his creation in innumerable ways in the Bible. We have seen God enter covenants to express his desire for relationship, and in today’s reading we see God's willingness to enter into conversation with us. When God announced that judgment would fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham seeks to intervene by entering a dialogue with God. He asked God if there are fifty righteous people could the cities be saved, and God answered yes. Abraham then goes on to ask God if the cities could be saved if there were forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, and finally ten. Abraham has the audacity to converse with God about the possibility of salvation for the cities. He boldly goes to God with the seeming freedom to ask anything and ask repetitively.
This same attitude should be ours. Jesus is our great high priest, so we can "approach God's throne of grace with confidence" (Hebrews 4:16). God wants to hear from us, he longs to converse with us, and he sent his Son to make this possible. So we should pray continually, running into the arms of our Heavenly Father who longs to speak with us.
Father God, help me to continually come to you in prayer. I thank you that through the death, resurrection, and continued work of Jesus I can come to you with confidence that I will be heard. Thank you that you hear and respond. Amen.
What are some of the things that keep you from conversing with God more regularly?
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1 Comment
I find it hard to converse with God when we doubt if he's listening or cares. There was a season that I doubted if God even cared about me or the problems I was struggling with. I was not seeing prayers to get answered and I began to doubt God's love for me. It made it hard for me to come to God and I stopped addressing God as,"Father" in my prayers and began to just say, "God.... " Because I distanced myself emotionally and put up a wall emotionally thinking I could not trust God or surely he did not care.
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nIt was a long and hard struggle as I wrestled with God and stayed silent for many months and my prayers became few and short (as short as, "God, you see me..." because my heart felt cast down. But deep down inside of me and knew that I had to still pray and seek the Lord so I wrestled. And after months past The Lord gently whispered to me, "Daughter." He was lovingly reminding me that he cared. He longed for a relationship with me and wanted me to call him, "Father" and trust him again. The Lord persisted in reminding me that he cared for me.
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nSometimes the busyness of the days (where we pack out schedules so full out of true longing for meaning and connection while excluding the only one who will ever give us meaning and who's connection matters more than anyone's) keep us from conversing with God because we can see people in body form before us and they are easier to talk to about our problems.
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nBut sometimes it's great disappointments that keep us from God.
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nWhile still our own thoughts of worthless and inadequacy and shame can keep us from experiencing a deep and personal dialogue with God.
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nI think I've experienced all at some point or another in my walk with God (my Father).