Texting God

Have you ever had a time in your life when you wanted to be pursued and listened to? As human beings, we naturally desire to be in relationships, to have open lines of communication with others. Have you ever wanted that with someone who didn't reciprocate?

There was a time in my own life in which I was pleading with God to re-establish an open line of communication with a friend. And I was asking Him to allow it to be through verbal communication, not another all-to-familiar text message. But when that didn't happen, I couldn't understand why He wasn't answering my prayers. I then realized that He was answering, just not in the way I expected. The Lord used that situation, as He often does, to teach me a lesson about the kind of communication He desires from each of His beloved children.

Although text messages are a popular form of communication and allow for quick and easy interaction, they are very impersonal. While text messages can complement verbal communication, any relationship of depth cannot be based on or centered around them.

Through my own situation, I felt God saying, "I want more than text messages from you." I started thinking about how often I simply "text" God throughout the day, sending up quick prayers (usually prayer requests) without any follow-up. While it is awesome to be able to talk to God at any point during the day, He wants more than just "text messages" from each of us. He wants us to pursue Him, to be rooted in prayer. He desires that we be open and honest and that we open up our hearts to Him — to not only ask but to praise. He will listen!

Prayer is our opportunity to communicate with Him. He craves a deeper relationship with each of us, where we talk to Him in depth, as well as listening to Him through His Word (the Bible) and the Holy Spirit.