Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Talking With God and Getting Some Answers

By Lauren Yarger
Every so often I realize that my times of prayer have been heavy on the "I" side. I feel this way; I'd like to see these things happen; I'd like an answer about something (and usually I want this right now and I want the answer to be this....).

Expressing these feelings is part of communicating with God. Because He desires a relationship with us on a personal level, it's OK to express our feelings, hopes and desires and even our disappointments. That's how we communicate with friends.

Have you ever been in a conversation, though, that is one-sided? It can be frustrating. Sometimes it's because the person is lonely and needs to talk. Sometimes it's a unique situation and there a major issue happening and it is all about that person this time. Too often, it's because self importance has crept in and somehow the dominant speaker feels that what he or she has to say is the most important thing.

I find that when I start to wonder why I haven't heard from God, it's usually because I haven't given Him a chance to speak. The last time that happened, I spent a long time with the Lord, just listening for His voice. I was amazed at the how much he had to say when I gave Him half a chance. I started recording the insights in a notebook. Here are a few gems from that day:

• Spending time thinking, worrying and reasoning takes away from time I could hear Him speaking.
• Spending time wishing for what I don’t have keeps me from spending time appreciating what I do have.
• He will always show me a way out.
• He always parts the storm clouds and shines through.
• If I spend my time being busy and going at high speed, I’ll rush right past Him and end up going nowhere fast.
• He is a rock and a foundation.

This really wasn't a private conversation. All of this is in His word where you can hear from Him too. So the next time you are upset, worried, disappointed or looking for answers, be still, know He is God and ask Him to speak. He will.

1 comment:

Retta Blaney, M.A., M.F.A. said...

This is why I meditate twice a day. It is the most powerful form of prayer.

Daily Inspiration

The Blind Side

Read about the real life mom from "The Blind Side."

Lifeway: http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=169816

Guideposts: http://www.guideposts.com/story/sandra-bullock-blind-side-football?page=0,1

Read Matt Mungle's review of the movie at http://www.buddyhollywood.com/.

Lauren Yarger, Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists.

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.

In 2008 she was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater with a Christian perspective for Reflections in the Light (http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/) and is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection. She also is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com

She also reviews books for Publisher's Weekly and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She formerly was Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp, a national theater web site bsed in New York and a reviewer for American Theater Web.

She also served as Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. and worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

She is a freelance writer and member of the Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association, The League of Professional Theatre Women and The CT Critics Circle.

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger lives with her husband in West Granby, CT and has two adult children.

Copyright Notice

All contents copyright © Lauren Yarger 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, contact masterworkproductions@yahoo.com.

Scripture from THE MESSAGE Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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