Treat God like He is Actually Present with Us
Imagine, if you will, coming to visit your brother, Bill, and talking to him like this:
Highly esteemed, Brother Bill, I come to you today to, Brother Bill, ask that you, Brother Bill, listen to my requests. Brother Bill, now you know that our Dad, Brother Bill, needs to have his grass mowed, Brother Bill, and if you remember, Brother Bill, I did it last time, Brother Bill. So I’m begging you, Brother Bill, to please mow it this coming Saturday, Brother Bill.
Now, Brother Bill, I’m asking you to tell me how your wife, Brother Bill, is getting along after her surgery, Brother Bill. I’ve really been concerned, Brother Bill, about her lately, and I know that you will take good care of her, Brother Bill.
And one other thing, Brother Bill, will you be going to town on Sunday, Brother Bill, cause I need a ride to church, Brother Bill, and since you’re going to town anyway, Brother Bill, I know you won’t mind me tagging along, Brother Bill.
Well, Brother Bill, it sure has been great talking with you, Brother Bill. Let’s do this again tomorrow morning, Brother Bill, same time, same place.
Have you ever had a conversation like that with another person? No? Then why do we find so many people talking at God like this? That is not a rhetorical question. Let’s determine why we talk at God like that.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. -- Matt. 6:7-8 (NIV)
So, in the next few weeks, let’s spend some time working through all these hindrances to us having a real dialogue with God.
I want to look at a couple of issues in our session today.
1. Treat God like He is actually present with us.
2. Start learning to break the old habits and paradigms of prayer.
· Dispense with the idea that we have to have a designated time to pray when we get together as Christians.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. --
Heb. 11:6 (NIV)
…pray continually,… -- 1 Thess. 5:17 (NIV)
Imagine, if you will, that during our time this evening, I set aside a special time in the meeting when we will talk to my wife. No one talks to her except at this special time. Okay, maybe there will be more than one special time, but we only talk to her during the designated times. Wouldn’t you think that to be weird? How would my wife feel about that? Wouldn’t that be a little off-putting to her? Just imagine that she would have this great idea come to her mind and she starts to tell us about it, but we can’t hear her because she is not speaking at the appointed time. So we ignore her. What do you think she would do after several attempts to share her thoughts? Right, she’d shut up and not bother to waste her breath. And when the designated time came to talk to her, she’d be so ticked off, she wouldn’t pay any attention to us.
Hmmm! Ever think that might be how Jesus feels in our gatherings? We do it because we’re treating him like he isn’t really here. And we don’t know what else to do, because this is the way we’ve always seen it done.
The way it always works with a group of people sitting around a table at dinner, or over coffee is well understood. Some people talk more than others. Some people listen more than others. But none of us set aside a designated time in our dinner time to talk to each person. What would happen if we started treating Jesus like he was really another person seated in the room? Okay, I know, we don’t hear him speaking audibly, but he does speak to us through others, through the Scriptures, and through thoughts that he puts in our minds. So wouldn’t it be better to verbalize what you hear Jesus speaking to you for the edification of everyone in the room?
And why do we have to wait for a designated point in time to ask him questions or ask for help? If I need my wife to do something for me, I don’t have to wait until my special time with her in the evenings. I just speak right up and ask her. Why shouldn’t we do the same thing with Jesus? He’s right there with us all the time.
Why do we bow our heads and close our eyes when we talk with God? Because we’ve been taught to do this since we were children. Okay, I know, it is a way of showing reverence for God. And it was a signal to us as children that it was time to be quiet.
Another reason we do it is so that we can concentrate on the presence of Jesus and get our attention focused on him. That’s not a bad thing. But once we’ve mastered the techniques that allow us to concentrate on him, we should be able to dispense with the crutches. And that’s what these things are -- mostly. I mean, is there anything wrong with laying my hands on one of you and asking Jesus to bless you, or heal you, or give you wisdom while looking into your eyes? After all, I may very well be the voice of Jesus to you at that moment.
What do I mean by that? Have you ever noticed people when they pray? Many times they change the pitch of their voice, some even generating a whiny tone that can be quite annoying. Why does that happen? It all goes back to what we discussed earlier. We feel funny talking to someone whom we don’t feel is there. And after a while we develop this habit of praying in a funny tone of voice that we use with no other person. Jesus is here! We don’t have to conjure him up by going into some sort of trance and speaking to him in a séance type voice.
And what’s with all the vain punctuation? Many of us, I feel, use God’s name in vain in our prayers. The Jews would certainly say that we did. We use his name as filler in our prayers, much like other people use the filler “and uh”. Again, we do this because we’ve heard other people do it, and we’ve developed the habit as well.
And what’s with the King James English vocabulary when we pray? I don’t hear this as much as I did when I was young, but lots of folks still do it. The question is, “Why?” Once again, it’s because we’ve learned it from listening to older Christians pray, and we’ve developed the habit ourselves. And now it seems so natural to us when we’re praying. Tell ya what; try talking in King James English with your colleague at work and see what happens.
When you hear the phone ring, there is usually one of three questions you ask yourself – either verbally or non-verbally – depending on the caller.
1. What are you trying to sell?
Most of the time we now have the technology to either block or ignore these callers. Should one slip through our screening process, we quickly discern their motive for calling and act accordingly. We either immediately hang up, make an excuse for not talking to them and then hang up, or endure the long-winded sales pitch and then politely refuse. For those who are not savvy to the sales techniques, they can be defrauded into all kinds of schemes.
2. What do you want?
This is the question we ask, usually non-verbally, when we receive calls from people we know, but who are not close friends. The only time they call is when they want something from us. They may or may not be interested in your well-being, or the health and welfare of your family. If they ask those kinds of questions, it may only be a polite way of leading up to the question they called you to ask.
3. What’s going on in your life?
This is the question we ask of someone when we see their caller ID on the phone and we are looking forward to talking with them. They don’t necessarily need anything from us, they just want to talk and catch up. These are close friends or relatives whom we hold near and dear to our hearts. We look forward to our conversations with them and don’t mind spending a considerable amount of time talking.
So, the question is, which of these three questions does Jesus ask when you begin praying? Let’s map the three questions to the various types of prayers and the people who pray them.
1. What are you trying to sell?
When God asks this question, he’s probably receiving a request from someone who really has no relationship with Jesus at all. They’ve found themselves in a helpless situation and call out to God with offers of a deal of some kind if he’ll bail them out. This is the typical prayer offered in fox holes with bullets whistling overhead. Or it’s the typical prayer offered when someone is very near death and is conscious enough to offer the prayer. “God if you get me out of this I’ll <fill in the blank>”.
2. What do you want?
God asks this question when he listens to most of the prayers that we offer. Why do I say that? Even when we really desire to be closer to God, the only kind of prayers we know are the ones asking God to do something for us. It’s the way we’ve been taught to pray, and we don’t usually know what else to say. Most of us know that we should tack on a phrase at the beginning acknowledging that God is holy, and a phrase at the end thanking him and giving him glory, but everything in between is nothing but request after request after request. God, do this, do that, do the other. Please!
It’s also God’s question when he listens to the prayers of many notional Christians. They frequent “church” services and repeat canned prayers, but they know Jesus only casually.
3. What’s going on in your life?
This is the question that God asks when he encounters the prayers of the likes of David, and Moses, and St. Paul, and St. John. It is the question he asks when you and I arise in the morning and with anticipation, lift our spiritual eyes to Jesus and say, “I’ve been looking forward to this time with you alone – just you and me.” There are lots of things that we want and need and he already knows about them. But we’re just wanting to be alone with him to savor being in his presence. Or it may be the time when we’re weary from a very difficult day and just need the time alone with him to be refreshed, or healed, or just to cry out to him in our distress. Or it may be the time after you’ve just done Face Time with your grandchildren and you just want to share the moment with him and thank him for how he has blessed you. It could also be the time when you’re driving down the road looking at the beautiful world around you and just want to lift your heart to God in praise and thanksgiving.
So, do you get the picture now? What question do you think God asks when you begin praying? The answer will tell you where your relationship with God is today. It may also drive you to change the way you pray in order to reshape the question that is in God’s mind when you begin praying.
Highly esteemed, Brother Bill, I come to you today to, Brother Bill, ask that you, Brother Bill, listen to my requests. Brother Bill, now you know that our Dad, Brother Bill, needs to have his grass mowed, Brother Bill, and if you remember, Brother Bill, I did it last time, Brother Bill. So I’m begging you, Brother Bill, to please mow it this coming Saturday, Brother Bill.
Now, Brother Bill, I’m asking you to tell me how your wife, Brother Bill, is getting along after her surgery, Brother Bill. I’ve really been concerned, Brother Bill, about her lately, and I know that you will take good care of her, Brother Bill.
And one other thing, Brother Bill, will you be going to town on Sunday, Brother Bill, cause I need a ride to church, Brother Bill, and since you’re going to town anyway, Brother Bill, I know you won’t mind me tagging along, Brother Bill.
Well, Brother Bill, it sure has been great talking with you, Brother Bill. Let’s do this again tomorrow morning, Brother Bill, same time, same place.
Have you ever had a conversation like that with another person? No? Then why do we find so many people talking at God like this? That is not a rhetorical question. Let’s determine why we talk at God like that.
- We hear other people do it.
- We don’t believe God is actually listening.
- We don’t know how to hear him speak to us, and we can’t stand silence, so we fill it with our own voice.
- We think God is a vending machine.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. -- Matt. 6:7-8 (NIV)
So, in the next few weeks, let’s spend some time working through all these hindrances to us having a real dialogue with God.
I want to look at a couple of issues in our session today.
1. Treat God like He is actually present with us.
2. Start learning to break the old habits and paradigms of prayer.
· Dispense with the idea that we have to have a designated time to pray when we get together as Christians.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. --
Heb. 11:6 (NIV)
…pray continually,… -- 1 Thess. 5:17 (NIV)
Imagine, if you will, that during our time this evening, I set aside a special time in the meeting when we will talk to my wife. No one talks to her except at this special time. Okay, maybe there will be more than one special time, but we only talk to her during the designated times. Wouldn’t you think that to be weird? How would my wife feel about that? Wouldn’t that be a little off-putting to her? Just imagine that she would have this great idea come to her mind and she starts to tell us about it, but we can’t hear her because she is not speaking at the appointed time. So we ignore her. What do you think she would do after several attempts to share her thoughts? Right, she’d shut up and not bother to waste her breath. And when the designated time came to talk to her, she’d be so ticked off, she wouldn’t pay any attention to us.
Hmmm! Ever think that might be how Jesus feels in our gatherings? We do it because we’re treating him like he isn’t really here. And we don’t know what else to do, because this is the way we’ve always seen it done.
The way it always works with a group of people sitting around a table at dinner, or over coffee is well understood. Some people talk more than others. Some people listen more than others. But none of us set aside a designated time in our dinner time to talk to each person. What would happen if we started treating Jesus like he was really another person seated in the room? Okay, I know, we don’t hear him speaking audibly, but he does speak to us through others, through the Scriptures, and through thoughts that he puts in our minds. So wouldn’t it be better to verbalize what you hear Jesus speaking to you for the edification of everyone in the room?
And why do we have to wait for a designated point in time to ask him questions or ask for help? If I need my wife to do something for me, I don’t have to wait until my special time with her in the evenings. I just speak right up and ask her. Why shouldn’t we do the same thing with Jesus? He’s right there with us all the time.
- Dispense with the notion that we have to have our eyes closed and our heads bowed when we talk with God.
Why do we bow our heads and close our eyes when we talk with God? Because we’ve been taught to do this since we were children. Okay, I know, it is a way of showing reverence for God. And it was a signal to us as children that it was time to be quiet.
Another reason we do it is so that we can concentrate on the presence of Jesus and get our attention focused on him. That’s not a bad thing. But once we’ve mastered the techniques that allow us to concentrate on him, we should be able to dispense with the crutches. And that’s what these things are -- mostly. I mean, is there anything wrong with laying my hands on one of you and asking Jesus to bless you, or heal you, or give you wisdom while looking into your eyes? After all, I may very well be the voice of Jesus to you at that moment.
- Dispense with the unnatural vocabulary and vain punctuation.
What do I mean by that? Have you ever noticed people when they pray? Many times they change the pitch of their voice, some even generating a whiny tone that can be quite annoying. Why does that happen? It all goes back to what we discussed earlier. We feel funny talking to someone whom we don’t feel is there. And after a while we develop this habit of praying in a funny tone of voice that we use with no other person. Jesus is here! We don’t have to conjure him up by going into some sort of trance and speaking to him in a séance type voice.
And what’s with all the vain punctuation? Many of us, I feel, use God’s name in vain in our prayers. The Jews would certainly say that we did. We use his name as filler in our prayers, much like other people use the filler “and uh”. Again, we do this because we’ve heard other people do it, and we’ve developed the habit as well.
And what’s with the King James English vocabulary when we pray? I don’t hear this as much as I did when I was young, but lots of folks still do it. The question is, “Why?” Once again, it’s because we’ve learned it from listening to older Christians pray, and we’ve developed the habit ourselves. And now it seems so natural to us when we’re praying. Tell ya what; try talking in King James English with your colleague at work and see what happens.
- Dispense with the vending machine mode of talking to God.
When you hear the phone ring, there is usually one of three questions you ask yourself – either verbally or non-verbally – depending on the caller.
1. What are you trying to sell?
Most of the time we now have the technology to either block or ignore these callers. Should one slip through our screening process, we quickly discern their motive for calling and act accordingly. We either immediately hang up, make an excuse for not talking to them and then hang up, or endure the long-winded sales pitch and then politely refuse. For those who are not savvy to the sales techniques, they can be defrauded into all kinds of schemes.
2. What do you want?
This is the question we ask, usually non-verbally, when we receive calls from people we know, but who are not close friends. The only time they call is when they want something from us. They may or may not be interested in your well-being, or the health and welfare of your family. If they ask those kinds of questions, it may only be a polite way of leading up to the question they called you to ask.
3. What’s going on in your life?
This is the question we ask of someone when we see their caller ID on the phone and we are looking forward to talking with them. They don’t necessarily need anything from us, they just want to talk and catch up. These are close friends or relatives whom we hold near and dear to our hearts. We look forward to our conversations with them and don’t mind spending a considerable amount of time talking.
So, the question is, which of these three questions does Jesus ask when you begin praying? Let’s map the three questions to the various types of prayers and the people who pray them.
1. What are you trying to sell?
When God asks this question, he’s probably receiving a request from someone who really has no relationship with Jesus at all. They’ve found themselves in a helpless situation and call out to God with offers of a deal of some kind if he’ll bail them out. This is the typical prayer offered in fox holes with bullets whistling overhead. Or it’s the typical prayer offered when someone is very near death and is conscious enough to offer the prayer. “God if you get me out of this I’ll <fill in the blank>”.
2. What do you want?
God asks this question when he listens to most of the prayers that we offer. Why do I say that? Even when we really desire to be closer to God, the only kind of prayers we know are the ones asking God to do something for us. It’s the way we’ve been taught to pray, and we don’t usually know what else to say. Most of us know that we should tack on a phrase at the beginning acknowledging that God is holy, and a phrase at the end thanking him and giving him glory, but everything in between is nothing but request after request after request. God, do this, do that, do the other. Please!
It’s also God’s question when he listens to the prayers of many notional Christians. They frequent “church” services and repeat canned prayers, but they know Jesus only casually.
3. What’s going on in your life?
This is the question that God asks when he encounters the prayers of the likes of David, and Moses, and St. Paul, and St. John. It is the question he asks when you and I arise in the morning and with anticipation, lift our spiritual eyes to Jesus and say, “I’ve been looking forward to this time with you alone – just you and me.” There are lots of things that we want and need and he already knows about them. But we’re just wanting to be alone with him to savor being in his presence. Or it may be the time when we’re weary from a very difficult day and just need the time alone with him to be refreshed, or healed, or just to cry out to him in our distress. Or it may be the time after you’ve just done Face Time with your grandchildren and you just want to share the moment with him and thank him for how he has blessed you. It could also be the time when you’re driving down the road looking at the beautiful world around you and just want to lift your heart to God in praise and thanksgiving.
So, do you get the picture now? What question do you think God asks when you begin praying? The answer will tell you where your relationship with God is today. It may also drive you to change the way you pray in order to reshape the question that is in God’s mind when you begin praying.
Exercise 1
So now, let’s practice. This is going to feel really strange. You’re going to be uncomfortable. That’s okay. I don’t know of one person who’s ever felt comfortable jumping out of an airplane for the first with a parachute strapped to their back. But after 300 jumps, they really don’t think about it that much. If you take a beginning skier to the edge of a black diamond slope, let the end of their skis dangle out over the precipice, they don’t feel comfortable. But after a while, it becomes almost second nature to get a run at it and see how fast they can traverse the moguls.
Let’s pray. But don’t close your eyes. Don’t even bow your head. Look at each other as you talk to God. I want you to pray for the person next you while looking them in the eye. After all, you are looking at a part of the Body of Christ. I want you to bless that person.
Let’s pray. But don’t close your eyes. Don’t even bow your head. Look at each other as you talk to God. I want you to pray for the person next you while looking them in the eye. After all, you are looking at a part of the Body of Christ. I want you to bless that person.
Exercise 2
Now, let’s also act as if Jesus was in the room. Talk to him interactively. When several people engage in a conversation, we don’t have one person designated as the spokesman. Neither do we all talk at the same time – well not usually. It’s okay to use another person’s comments as a springboard for something we want to say. Same thing is true when talking with God. Again, some people will talk more than others. That’s just our personalities.
Homework
This week, I want you to begin practicing this kind of praying. In fact, do it while you’re driving, when you “say grace”, when you hear a bird sing, or see a flower. Just say out loud, “Wow, Jesus, what a beautiful flower you’ve made!” As you go about your activities, just make comments to Jesus. That’s what prayer is – acting like he is there and hears you. Remember, you’re not just pretending, because his presence is reality. You’re just learning new habits while breaking old ones.
