Prayer -- A Conversation with God

I am currently leading a small group study on Sunday nights at our church. Our group is reading and discussing the book, Conversation With God, by Lloyd John Ogilvie. Ogilvie is a former pastor and a former chaplain for the United States Senate. I thought I would share with you some great stuff from his book.

1. First of all, prayer is conversation with God. We often forget that conversation is a two-way street. It is talking and listening. I would venture to say that the majority of time that Christians spend in "prayer" with God is spent by doing all of the talking. There is an art to listening, and, most assuredly, there is a blessing that comes from it. Do you allow for silence in your prayer time to actually listen for God to speak? Have you ever sat with a blank page in front of you so that you could jot notes down from what God says to you?

2. When you think about praying or have a desire to pray, thank God for that thought and desire because God is the one who always initiates our conversations with Him. We don't go to God in prayer without Him already doing a work in our lives to draw us to Him. He issues an invitation for us to spend time with him. Ogilvie says, "A sense of loneliness for God is a gift produced by the (Holy) Spirit." The Spirit of God creates a hunger and thirst in us for God. Without this invitation and wooing from Him we would never pray, or our so called "prayers" would be mere babbling and utterly powerless.

3. Ogilvie writes about the benefits of time spent alone with God in prayer. Here are a few that I drew out of his book:

• Prayer is the source of life's greatest joy.
• Prayer maximizes your ability to understand and love people.
• Prayer helps you think more clearly.
• Through prayer you gain supernatural insight and wisdom.
• Through prayer you fulfill the reason your were born -- to know and love God.

Prayer is vital to the life of a Christian! It is the means of connection with God and of receiving His guidance and power in life. How is your prayer life? If you would like to experience prayer as a joy rather than a chore, I encourage you to read this book. Not only does Ogilvie discuss the significance and meaning of prayer, but he also demonstrates how to have a practical conversation with God, from start to finish. There is a 30 day plan in the book to help you get started developing the discipline of genuine conversation with God.

God's knocking at your door. He's ringing your phone. He's texting you. He's calling you. Do you want to know how I know? Even if you had no thought about praying prior to reading this blog entry, now you do. Your thoughts have turned toward prayer. That is God calling you to spend time with Him in conversation. How about one right now?

I would appreciate your comments on prayer.

The book referenced in this blog is, Conversation With God: Experiencing the Life-changing Impact of Personal Prayer by Lloyd John Ogilvie, published by Harvest House Publishers, 1993.

Counting the Ways

Are you counting the ways? If you haven't started counting yet, I remind you that Valentine's Day is just a couple of days away, and it might do you well to get started.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote one of the most well-known love poems ever written. I am sure you are familiar with the first line of the poem, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." In the lines that follow in the poem, she notes the ways that she loves her husband. Sounds like a good exercise to do. So, all you wives out there, get to it!

Just kidding! It sounds like a good exercise for husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, and friends to do. For Valentine's Day this year, stop for a moment and think of someone special in your life and ask yourself, "How do I love thee (that person)?" (Notice I did not say "How in the world do I love thee?") Before you compose your list, consider the question carefully.

The question is, "How DO I love thee?" In her poem, Mrs. Browning's list of ways that she loved her husband seems to be made up mostly of the expression of her emotions and passion for him. Emotions and passion are significant parts of love but that is not all. Perhaps the question, How DO I love thee, should be expanded in its scope to include things that I DO -- my actions. Love involves feelings, but true love is expressed in actions.

You might not receive a Valentine's Day card that says, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee by paying the bills, holding your hand, listening intently, cooking dinner, mowing the lawn, washing the clothes, sharing with you," you get my point. But are not these some actions of love? I challenge you to think about all the things you do because you love that person. Then, make your own list. God did.

God asked the question, "How do I love thee?" and His answer forms a list that is the length of the world's bestseller. His list is written in the Bible, practically on every page. I draw your attention to just three of the items on His list:

1. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

2. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

3. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9).

Wow, what a list! And do you want to know something truly wonderful? Who do you think is the "thee" that He would be thinking about in the question, "How do I love thee?" It's YOU! God does not only have feelings for you. He has actions for you! That's the best Valentine card anyone could receive!

Are you counting the ways?

Chasing Rabbits

He grew up chasing rabbits...literally. That is what young boys did in the small Florida community of Belle Glade where he grew up. If they caught as many as twenty rabbits they could sell them for $3 a piece! It was a way to make money in a high poverty area of Florida. It was also a way to become a fast runner. The young boys would catch these rabbits by hand which meant they had to run them down, and running in the muck of Lake Okeechobee was an excellent means of leg strength conditioning.

What good could come from the mud and muck of Belle Glade, Florida? In the early 1980's the Belle Glade community had the highest rate of AIDS infection in the country. In 2003, it had the second-highest violent crime rate in the United States. More than twenty-five percent of the residents live below the poverty line. Indeed, Belle Glade has been a "muddy" place to grow up.

But, out of the muck and mud have come champions! Glades Central High School , the only high school in the town, has produced at least nineteen professional football players. Monday, one former Glades Central Raider rode in a convertible with Mickey Mouse at a Disney World parade because he is one of those champions. Santonio Holmes grew up chasing rabbits in the mud in Belle Glade in order to make a few bucks and, in the process, became a speedy wide receiver. Sunday, he made the biggest catch of his life, and it wasn't a rabbit. It was the game-winning touchdown for the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers!

After nine catches with one hundred thirty-one yards and the game-winning touchdown, Santonio Holmes was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIII!

Rising from the mud and muck to become a Most Valuable Player is an amazing story. This can be our story as followers of Christ! How can you and I be named a Most Valuable Player in the game of life? I share these verses to give you clues:

"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

"And without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:6

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27

In order to rise from the mud and muck and be a Most Valuable Player in the game of life, we must act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with our God, live by faith, love God with everything we are and have, and love others. If we do these things, then one day we will hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

What other Bible verses can you add to this list that would answer the question, "What should I do to be a Most Valuable Player in the game of life?" I would welcome your comments.

Not to Chase Rabbits, But...

Tell me what you think about this comment:

"God doesn't owe us anything. In fact, if he did, he wouldn't be God."


I found information about Santonio Holmes for this entry from the article, "Steelers' Holmes Traces Speed to Humble, Rabbit-chasing Roots," by Kevin Acee, Union-Tribune staff writer, January 30, 2009. The article can be seen at www.signonsandiego.com

Information about Glade Central High School came from www.wikipedia.com.