The incoming texts can seem endless at times. The buzz comes and we glance to see who it is. “Who it is” really breaks down into a few key categories, at least in my world – work; friends (especially memes and gifs, depending on your age); random spam texts (I’m a little concerned about my job security based on the recruiting texts I’m receiving); and of course, family texts (our family’s thread resembles a squirrel after an energy drink on some days).
But in all of the texts I receive, there is one in my world right now that is pretty much my favorite – “What are you guys up to?”. It brings a smile as it means a call is coming soon from my daughter, who is at college many miles away. It means I’m going to hear some updates on her week, what her needs are, and what some of her upcoming plans may be.
I am a dad who absolutely loves hearing from my kids. How cool is it that is how our Heavenly Father is with us! Seriously – He loves us, He loves hearing from us, He wants to hear what we’ve been up to, what’s on our hearts and minds, what our desires are, where we need Him to show up.
And yet, we too often seem to diminish the power of prayer by how we treat it. He wants to hear from us, yet we don’t always take the time to talk to Him, do we? I know I’m guilty of it.
When I don’t prioritize prayer, it makes me think of the house I lived in my senior year of college. It was a nice house, other than the one corner that was slowly descending into a sinkhole. When someone walked into parts of the house, it looked a little like the old Batman TV show’s villain hideouts. When we don’t pray, we are ignoring a key part of the foundation, and the house just isn’t right.
Prayer should be a focal point of my walk with the Lord, yet too often it is ‘fit in’ where I can, or I get distracted in the middle of it by a phone notification, or I just get too tired to pray before hitting the pillow.
Then I read this:
“At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, for you are treasured by God.” Daniel 9:23
How amazing is this!
In this verse, Daniel had only started praying, and the answer was on the way. God does the same for me – He faithfully sends answers, many times even before I’m done praying. Look, whether my daughter knows it or not (let’s face it, she probably does), my wife and I love sending her a little money when we hear of something special she has coming up. When we hear her needs, we want to help provide for her. How much MORE does our Heavenly Father love to do that for us! I love when His answers almost have the feel of “watch this” with a knowing smirk on His face.
In Ephesians 3:20, we read, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
No matter what I talk to Him about, He can handle it. And He can help with answers to whatever questions I have.
Prayer is powerful. Yes, God knows what we are going to pray, but there is something about Him hearing it directly from our hearts that triggers His heart to answer.
But wait…there’s more! As Daniel was, we are treasured by God. The Lord is awesome in His love and care for us. My heart and mind can’t even comprehend that the Lord would “treasure” someone as broken as me, yet He does! What a Savior!
People wander through this world looking to find someone who truly cares about them, someone who will listen to them, someone who can help them. Our Lord treasures us; He not only listens to us but WANTS to hear from us; and He can help us like no one else can.
Remember these things the next time you are tempted to back-burner your prayer time or forget how powerful our times talking with the Lord truly are. In fact, now’s a great time to pause and talk to Him about whatever is on your heart. He’s listening.