Striking up a conversation with God - Part 2

Conversing with God - Part 2 - by P.K.Odendaal - 23 June 2011.

1. God wants to talk to us.

This is His main need and the reason why He created Adam and Eve, and it 'made'  His day when he could go to them every evening to talk to them.

Gen 3:8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  v:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (He is looking for them to hold conversational communion with Him).

2. God wants us to have our own thoughts, ideas, feelings etc.

The main reason we were created was to have free will, so that we could become friends of God and not automatons or slaves of Him. If you do not believe this, you will never understand the richness and implication of the  creation of man to be a friend of God, being created in His image and after His likeness. It means that we have the potential to be gods ourselves, having been born into such a Creative, Holy and Royal family and kingdom.

3. God wants to be proud of us and boast with us, for being His friends, much the same we do with some of our more 'important' friends.

         Job 1:8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

         Job 2:3  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

4. God has compassion for our feelings.

  When the following people were distresses, He talked to them compassionately.

Gen 21:17  And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.  v:18  Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.  v:19  And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  v:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Exo 2:24  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  v:25  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

5. God is guided by our thoughts and opinions.

Exo 32:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:  v:10  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. v:11  And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?  v:12  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.  v:13  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.  v:14  And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Gen 18:23  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

and with Abraham.

Gen 18:24  Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?  v:25  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to  slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?  v:26  And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.  v:27  And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

6. God needs us to do Him favours.

Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

7. God needs us to worship Him.

Rev 15:4  Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

8. God wants us to turn our communication with Him into communion with Him.

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. .

He is not not talking here about food.

         I find myself not competent or worthy to talk about this communion concept, but I know it is there, I can feel it, I can sense it.

         God could have sent us a message telling us that he forgave all our sins, but He sent His Son so that we could have physical, verbal and visual communion with Him and His Body.

         Take this 'weird' communion He had with Abraham : Gen 15:17  And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. (Read the whole story of that communion).

         Let me try and explain it by way of a more mundane activity - dancing. I wrote a blog recently on the Invitation to the dance and linked it to the Music of the night. My conclusion was that if you and I were into dancing only for the physical and limited verbal activities associated with it, we should rather leave the dance floor and engage in more shallow physical activities like croquet or darts.

         The whole point of the dance is to forget the physical side of it and be elevated with your partner to a land or realm of  romance, excitement, infatuation, spiritual contact, passion and even make belief. Be sensitive to the subtle nuances of touch and look of your partner.

         The words of Music of the night says it so well (although in a spiritual realm and not a religious one - but the example holds)

Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Close your eyes and surrender 
to your darkest dreams
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before
Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar
And you'll live as you've never lived before

Let your mind start to journey 
through a strange new world
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to be
Only then can you belong to me

Floating, folding, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me savor each sensation
Let the dream begin, 
let your darker side give in to the 
power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night

         Now to come back to the subtle nuances of touch and look - from Jesus Christ. Are you looking out for that ?

         You and I know that billions of dollars are spent every year listening out to radio waves from outer space to establish whether there is intelligent life out there. How much more must we listen out to the subtle touch and look of Jesus Christ. Let me give you an example of His touch and look.

Mat 14:36  And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

We also know the beautiful song by the Gaithers, so well sung by Jimmy Swaggart - He touched me.

What about a look at Him. The song of the Homecoming group descibes it beautifully.

Only a look at Jesus
If your bowed down with care
Jesus promised to defend you
and He'll all, our burdens share

Chorus:
Only a look, Only a look
Turns me away from sin
Just one look will bring salvation
Eternal life to win