Texting God

Do you ever wonder if God is listening? Do you ever feel like you’re not getting a response after praying, only to assume He’s taking voice mail and doesn't really want to return the call? You may have even had the following thought: What's up God? I've left messages, sent texts, short e-mail like prayers all day, and still no response! Are You ever gonna answer me?

What about this: Have you ever wondered if your friend is upset or, the nerve, busy the very moment you call or text simply because an immediate response did not follow? Or, what about when a call goes strait to voice mail, do you ever wonder if it will be ignored, deleted or even checked?

In our world of immediate response through e-mail, texting and IMing, we have adapted to a lifestyle of instant everything; Answer the phone. Answer the text. Answer the e-mail. We then expect God to do the same. And when He doesn’t answer immediately, we become unsure about our relationship with Him. I mean, when a friend doesn’t text or call back immediately, we automatically think they don’t care or are too busy to be our friend.

But that’s the problem with being human; we think God acts like us. We often assume that along with our busy schedules with sports, school, friends, youth group and the like, that God does the same. We become insecure and think that God is just too busy for us. And, if we don’t get the response we want, we begin to wonder if the message is even getting to Him at all. I Peter 3:12 states that, “…the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer.” But why do we doubt?

God doesn’t live according to our microwave, instant-everything world. I mean, which would you prefer: a quick text message or a long talk with your best friend when things get rough? It’s the same way with Jesus. He wants to spend time with us, not just “texting” prayers back and forth.

Psalm 46:10 declares “Be still and know that I am God.” Maybe God likes the idea of waiting on Him (for a response) because He knows what it will do for us. That kind of waiting teaches us all the good stuff (like patience, humility and compassion) that we might not want to learn. He wants us to slow down, sit for awhile and really talk to Him.

For instance, you send God a prayer about a guy you like: “God, does Jason like me? Is this going to be a good thing?” No response, at least not right away. So, what’s a girl to do in the meantime? Do you take the silence as a thumbs up to go ahead and do what you want? Or maybe the silence is to teach you to wait. Wait a few more days or weeks, and keep praying. What if it turns out that not being with this guy is the best thing for you? You could have made a bad decision because you sent God a “text” prayer and he didn’t respond with a “text” right away.

Being still with God will build a sweet relationship that every girl needs. Through that relationship you will find answers to all your prayers. They might not come when you want them to, but God is in the business of making you more like His son, Jesus, rather than simply passing out instant messages. He loves you so much that He would have you wait for the right answer, every time.

Girls love to talk, and God loves to listen. Say goodbye to text message praying and hello to a dialog with the One True Living God. From God - I hear ya/BTW/I luv u!

Written by Natalie Witcher

About the Author: If waxy chocolate donuts were a food group, Natalie would be the first to make them part of every meal. But, since they aren’t, she’ll keep her head about her and “feast” on what truly is important—the Word of God. She is a mom of three and a wife of one. She’s a friend, mentor, movie lover and is convinced that when ever a lazy thunderstorm rolls in that God ordered it just for her. Raising her own girls gives her a front row seat to watching God do great things in the lives of great girls! She prays that every girl reading this online magazine will find everything they need in Christ!

Author Links
Natalie Witcher @ Blogspot
Stiletto Army @ Blogspot