My last two finals were Tuesday. The entire week of final exams, my prayers went something like, “God, after my finals are over, I’ll get closer to You and fix our relationship that school has messed up. Just hold on for one more week!”
We could literally spend FOREVER on everything that was wrong with that prayer. I really can’t believe I even prayed that. But I know some of you have been/are in the exact same spot. But let’s focus on the fact that I thought everything would be better down the road just because my circumstances changed.
“After my finals are over, I’ll get closer to You.” It takes the pattern a lot of our prayers and thoughts take. “If/when this happens, this will be better.”
I thought that maybe when I actually finished school, I would magically have the desire to get still and spend time and cultivate my relationship with God. EHHH! Wrong answer.
That’s the thing about humans. We don’t enjoy sitting still. Our society is in a constant state of rush and panic. Even in cultivating our relationships with friends, the time we spend with them is usually doing something else. We go shopping with them, we go to church with them, we go to a sporting event with them. While none of those things are inherently wrong, they’re hardly the best settings to get to know and cultivate a relationship with a person. I’ve recently learned that time well spent with my best friend is usually just sitting down in Starbucks with my soy hazelnut frap and her strawberry juice thing (I know her too well) and just talking. Talking about what’s going on in our lives and how God’s been working. My favorite, most impressive conversations I have with her are about something that God’s laid on either of our hearts.
So why don’t we pattern our relationship with God after this? Something I love about Christianity is that life comes with an instruction manual. We don’t have to go it alone. We have a Book that tells us how to handle our lives, and where the Book leaves off, the Holy Spirit picks up. We are never left to brave this life on our own. That’s why reading the Book and getting familiar with it are so key. Just like me listening to my best friend talk about her life, her boyfriend, her fears, and her future, we have to read the Bible in order to know about Jesus. The Bible is basically Jesus telling us about His life AND OURS from the creation of it all until its end. Not even the best of friends can tell us what hasn’t happened yet, but our God can.
Prayer is where drawing close to God can get a little sticky. My pastor always says, “We like to sing Sweet Hour of Prayer, but we struggle to even sit still for five minutes.” I have this problem too. But I’ve noticed my most fruitful prayer time is when I utter the words I have to say and just sit still in the presence of God. He reminds us, “Be still and know the I am God.” It doesn’t matter if you have everything or absolutely nothing to say to Him. JUST COME TO HIM.
I’m not here to give you a step-by-step guide to growing closer to God. I googled those before I wrote this post just to see how ridiculous they were, and I wasn’t disappointed. If you ever see someone claiming to have a step-by-step guide, run far, far away. Everyone’s relationship with God looks different. I’ve met some people who their relationship with God inspires me, but I’ve met many others whose relationships scare me. That’s right, they SCARE ME. But that’s another topic for another time.
I hope God’s used this to inspire you. Just take a deep breathe, and quietly, gently grow closer.
My Nerd Word 