How often have you heard this passage from my Word spoken? You answer,
many times. Oh, yes,
but how often have you really thought of what this statement implies?
Well, listen:
Oh, you should hear the noise and clatter I hear every day from people
coming to me in so-called
"prayer." So much is rabble, just a quick word or two that sounds like
the babble of incoherent
children. Even children speak to me in a more loving way, for they
come in their innocence and just
talk to me. Why do you think I come to little ones or allow my mother
or other saintly people to
appear to little children? Because they talk with me in a universal
language--love, total love--but
more than that, they stop and listen to me.
Oh, you who think you are so wise in the ways of the world! You think
you are so intelligent, so
gifted. You may even speak many languages, but do you know how to speak
the most important
language, the language of love? Do you know how to listen to the language
of love spoken back to
you? A good conversation cannot be one-sided; it must have two or more
to make it a good,
productive conversation. More often, I receive a recital of woes, so
to speak. You tell me your
problems, but you never wait for my answer. Retreat, I say, retreat
to a quiet place and listen, just
listen. Tell me your joys, tell me your pains, tell me your worries
and your exciting news--I listen like
a good friend--but don't run off after you have said your piece. Wait
and listen for my side of the
conversation. I so want to speak with you and tell you how happy I
am when you are joyful and how
sad I am when you are besieged with worry, how my heart pumps with
joy at your laughter, and
how my heart is saddened by your tears. I want to comfort you; I want
to rejoice with you, but you
never wait for my response. You just rattle your petitions and then
leave. Your loving companion is
left in the middle of the conversation and has not been allowed to
utter a word.
How will you be able to converse with me and listen to my part of the
conversation, you ask? Well,
first, let me say to you prayer is talking to me, your loving friend
and companion, along this rocky
road to salvation. But really talk to me: Don't hide behind prayers
that become monotonous; pray
with your heart--either formal or nonformal [prayers]--I listen to
both, but pray with your heart.
Next, stay for a little longer after you have finished your discourse
and listen to the inner stirrings of
your heart. I do not always come in a vision. I do not always come
with a loud, booming voice that
may frighten you, but I do always come, and most of the time, I come
in a gentle whisper, a slight
nudge of your inner being, a stirring of your heart. Pray as innocent
children do. They make no
demands; they just come in simple, joyful conversation and visit with
me. I, in turn, love to converse
with them because they wait and listen for my conversation with them.
So, I leave you now with the command that when you call on me and want
to converse with me, you
put on your best manners and wait and hear what I have to say before
you leave. Do not leave me
with an empty silence. STOP! Be still and know that I, your God, am
waiting to talk with you, to
share in your sorrows and joys, and to be your special friend and companion
on your journey back
to your heavenly home. Remember, talk to me with your heart and then
wait, please wait, for my
response.
My blessings on all of you.
Your loving friend and savior,
JESUS