When we stay away from God, we forget His very nature and His character. This dimness of memory about who God is and what He is really like causes us to be tentative in our prayers. We cannot pray with certainty of answer because our confidence in the Giver of the solution has dimmed. We forgot He is the One who is always waiting to meet us half way and we begin to assess the chances of our prayers being answered based on how good we think we are or have been, whether we think we deserve to be heard. Prayers are never answered because we have been good, they are answered because He is good! But the further away we stay from Him the more our memory is dimmed on this recollection of knowing His goodness and then our tentative prayers, with half hearted faith are rendered ineffective. Faith draws out God’s power (like the story of the woman with bleeding malady for example). Its faith that gets dull when we stay away from Him.
How do we get confidence in any work partnership without knowing that the other partner will do their part? We draw up contracts, put clauses and trust in good faith that each side will do their part. Well, we already are in contract with God through His Son (or will be when we understand). But more than that, is the fact that the other party, God, never changes in character or intent. Its us who don’t show up or show up half hearted. We haven’t worked on building this relationship from our side by staying in touch. I don’t think we’d do that with a work partner, then why do we stay away from God, or do it like a chore, a seasonal festive activity or a box to check?
Working on our relationship with God only means it increases our confidence in His character, His intention, His ability and equally importantly our standing and our right to ask of Him. Equipped with these, our ask will not be “if you please”, begging, questioning, tentative or fingers crossed, but it will be powered like that woman’s faith who without a verbally audible prayer thought in her mind “only if I touch Him, I will be healed”. Her finger touching the tip of the tassel of His garment setting forth, like the law of physics would, an equal and opposite reaction - that of drawing out power from God bringing in healing to her body. It happened because she fully knew God’s character, intent and ability. I’m willing to say that the times I don’t see these miracles in my day to day are because I don’t operate in the full knowledge of Him nor in the full awareness of my entitlement endowed by Him upon me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Working on this relationship, transforms us to have faith like a child. It reminds me of this story from a book I read. In one chapter, on a clear and sunny day the family marvels at a vibrant rainbow that appears in the sky even though it hadn’t rained! Colton, the boy in the book, looks in the sky, and smiles, shrugs, and says, "Yep I prayed for it." When it did show up across the sky the next day, he exhibited a total lack of surprise as if he knew it would be there since he asked God for it. We need that, the simple, uncomplicated faith of a child in a parent and unlike some flawed human parents, God is the perfect parent - consistent, willing and able to help.
Working on this relation generates boldness in us to approach God and ask with confidence. "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
As in all relationships, if we haven't been keeping in touch, it takes work to get back, say the first hello and get to a point where friendship is restored. So it is with this relationship with God but not from His side, from ours. Staying away allows other stuff to clog up our system -work, work pressures, movies, things happening between friends and family and on and on. It takes time to unclog this but let this not deter you from starting again to say "hello". He is waiting more than how you are waiting for your most important dream to be fulfilled. Reach out to a friend and ask them to pray for you, that helps with the cold start problem. This happened to me and I am going to articulate it in the paragraph below in a word of thanks.
Lord, You are so very loving to me like a mother and father. You heard the turmoil of the thoughts in my heart and mind. Thoughts on how I can live purposefully in a way that delights You mixed with opposing thoughts that were attacking my plans to spend more time with You. Somewhere in all this jumble You searched my heart and mind, You saw what no one sees, even stuff I don’t know and You took an action I had not explicitly asked for. You unplugged my hearing of Your voice! Your teaching rained like a sudden downpour of a lesson learnt a thousand times - through a fresh new lens. You showed me exactly that You are who You say you are: 1) waiting for me and running to meet me halfway, 2) in my corner like a coach that never gives up on an athlete’s potential that he sees that even the athlete does not know she has 3) loving and patient enough to overlook the past million times I chose Netflix over You. and 4) You are a never-giver-upper on me.
Thank you and thanks to all who might have prayed for me recently. Help me to prioritize You first and most, before all the stuff of life so that my knowing of You becomes stronger, my prayers more fun because I know you and can’t wait with the excitement of how You will answer at the right time and so that the light You gave me shines bright with the oil of Your Spirit that You pour into me.
Man, this is some deal - He solve, He pay damages, He lose, I gain, I act like a baby- He wait patiently, moment I turn, He run to meet me, He teach, He clear out junk in my head, He do all the good and I just follow Him around and walk in the good He already prepared for me. Who crazy enough to do this deal with me and why… it must be True Love, why else would anyone do dat for a nobody like me? (Ok, totally unsure why some novice rap voice played in my head as I write this para, but it is the truth, so leaving it as it is. No offence meant to any group, race or musical genre - just call it creative weirdness of the brain.)
The wrong side of the room,
The wrong side of the world.
Can't put my finger on the mood.
It's not melancholy, anger or the blues.
I love my husband, my house, my job.
Couldn't be any better,
And really what else is there?
Then I realize I'm forgetting God,
And that's the root of all my misery.
Lord, first of all, how is it between you and me?
. Chorus: How is it between us?
How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last,
And what has happened since?
How is it between us? How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last, and what has happened?
When I wake up I am on my way,
Reinventing the wheel and saving the day.
I have learned this lesson a thousand times,
I am the branch, and you are the vine.
Apart from you we are mice and men,
With our fancy dreams of grandeur and no way to get there.
Oh I can think about you now and then,
Or I can make a mark on eternity.
Lord first of all, how is it, between you and me?
Let the mountains crumble, and fall into the sea.
There's something more important weighing on my mind.
Lord first of all, how is it between you and me?
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