"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" ~Matthew 7:11
I like flowery language. I like my prayers to sound profound. I like to use big words, and have my language flow, and sound overall very smart.
I was in the middle of one such smart-sounding prayer the other night when an image flashed through my mind with a force that made me completely forget what I had just been praying about.
I was sitting on the floor -- not even kneeling, really, just sitting -- and in front of me was a Man in a chair, leaning forward, listening intently to everything I was saying.
And when that image flashed into my mind, I no longer had anything to say.
I've talked to a fair number of people in my lifetime, and there is nothing that bothers me more than when the person I'm talking to isn't really listening. And let's face it -- most of the time, people aren't really listening. They have other things on their mind. They're wondering who sent the text that just buzzed in their pocket. They're thinking, "Oh my gosh, would this Kendall girl please just shut up!"
And I think that's how I approach God as a talker. I talk without really believing He's intently listening. I know He can hear me, and probably some divine stenographer is writing down everything I say to bring it to His attention later. As a result, it's far less frequent than it should be that I really experience God's presence as I'm praying.
But once again, I have approached everything with the wrong attitude: Believing that it's all about me.
Prayer is not about me talking.
It's about God listening.
It's about an amazing Heavenly Daddy who, when you whisper "Dear God" in the back of your mind, leans forward. He is incredibly eager to hear what you have to say. He's incredibly eager to meet you, right then and there, while you're talking. He listens. With 100% of His attention (God has a lot of attention).
Prayer is about God listening. I wish I would have understood that years ago. If God didn't exist... If God didn't have the power to change circumstances, to change hearts, to change my heart... What good would prayer be? Could I change the world with prayers directed at an empty heaven, no matter how flowery?
Moreover, since God is so gracious to listen with undivided attention to me...should I not give the same undivided attention to Him when He speaks?
"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear." ~Isaiah 65:24
