Coming To God As You Are

In the previous blog, I introduced the book that I wrote about communication with our Heavenly Father. Today I want to delve further into why it is important to establish a communication channel with our Heavenly Father.

Somehow, the way I understand it is as a commandment: It is expected!  You see in Matthew 6 when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, the answer was: “when you pray”

He did not say “If you pray.” That means the word “when” signifies “whenever”.

It is easy to keep in touch with a physical person because we can be passive with our five senses. God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. It is all tied up to believing and faith. There are many things we believe though we have never seen. For example, we believe the world is round and it is rotating on its own axis around the earth. Can we see it? Not really, but the change of day and night, and of the seasons gives us evidence to believe that it does.

What evidence motivates us to believe and trust in God? Talking to him! Making our requests known to Him and the answers are evidence that boosts our faith in that He does exist.

The world has become so sensitive: People want to do their own thing, they don’t want to be told or reminded of God. Let us just chill for a moment. This God is the one who has created us and put us on this earth that He created. Our lives here have a purpose.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

– Jeremiah 29:11 (Easy Version)

We are not born all-knowing; we have to learn everything so we can sustain our physical life. The spiritual life that is connected to God is equally crucial and to sustain a healthy spiritual life we have to be connected to the source, God. 

John 17: Jesus Prays for Himself and His Followers

17 After Jesus said these things, he looked toward heaven and prayed, “Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. 2 You gave the Son power over all people so that he could give eternal life to all those you have given to him. 3 And this is eternal life: that people can know you, the only true God, and that they can know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. 4 I finished the work you gave me to do. I brought you glory on earth. 5 And now, Father, give me glory with you. Give me the glory I had with you before the world was made.

6 “You gave me some people from the world. I have shown them what you are like. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your teaching. 7 Now they know that everything I have came from you. 8 I told them the words you gave me, and they accepted them. They realized the fact that I came from you and believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them now. I am not praying for the people in the world. But I am praying for these people you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is seen in them.

11 “Now I am coming to you. I will not stay in the world, but these followers of mine are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. Then they will be one, just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. I protected them. And only one of them was lost—the one who was sure to be lost. This was to show the truth of what the Scriptures said would happen.

13 “I am coming to you now. But I pray these things while I am still in the world. I say all this so that these followers can have the true happiness that I have. I want them to be completely happy. 14 I have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them, because they don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world.

15 “I am not asking you to take them out of the world. But I am asking that you keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 They don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world. 17 Make them ready for your service through your truth. Your teaching is truth. 18 I have sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 I am making myself completely ready to serve you. I do this for them, so that they also might be fully qualified for your service.

20 “I pray not only for these followers but also for those who will believe in me because of their teaching. 21 Father, I pray that all who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, just as you and I are one. 23 I will be in them, and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.

24 “Father, I want these people you have given me to be with me in every place I am. I want them to see my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. 25 Father, you are the one who always does what is right. The world does not know you, but I know you, and these followers of mine know that you sent me. 26 I showed them what you are like, and I will show them again. Then they will have the same love that you have for me, and I will live in them.”

Jesus prayed a powerful prayer to the Father; He called Him Righteous Father. In other words, he is always right and does everything right. One of the things that God does is “watching over us” His eyes are constantly on us; He is omnipresent, and He loves for you to acknowledge Him. The world we live in now is chaotic and I love to know I have someone watching me who has my back. I love to know as I am working, that He is right there with me helping me in my strength and in my weakness. In goodness and in bad, He keeps me.

A big issue in communicating with the Father is wondering how to hear Him. Just start with His word the Bible. Take the scripture above John 17, what Jesus prayed here is His word that is living which you can take and put in the present tense and speak it back to the Father. There is no problem with copyrights. When I say “Father, thank you for giving me Eternal Life” or when I acknowledge the assurance of security and say “Father, thank you for keeping me from all evil”. It’s all there from the word. 

What if I don’t talk audibly? He hears that too! And when I am frustrated or angry he hears that too! He does not judge, he is ever present to help and make a way where there is no way. The beauty about being able to talk to God is that you don’t have to worry about it being repeated and hear it where you did not intend for it to be heard.

Often I use the prayer format in Matthew 6 but personalize it:

Father, I praise your name for it is Holy. I ask that your kingdom come to my place of work, and let your will be done as I do this or that. 

Sometimes I hear what seems like an audible voice but most of the time it is in my spirit and just knowing. When I ask a question I stay expectant that an answer will come.

The idea here is not to beat yourself up but to just come to God the way you are. He knows you and when you get to know Him your life will never be the same. Go ahead, reach out to him, just tell him what is in your heart. Keep His Word near you, when you know it, you dont panic, when a situation arises you are confident that He knows you and His Word is the assurance that He will do that which He has promised to do: For example:-

You are going on a journey, instead of asking for protection, you thank him for protection because you know He is Jehovah Nissi, your protector who is always with you and will never leave you. [there are two scriptures in there already] His Word is the best voice you will hear this side of Life, Embrace His Word.

Let’s Talk to Our Father is my take on the subject of communicating with Our Father, Our God Our Redeemer. Let’s keep the channel of conversations going, let us come to him as we are.

You can purchase my book using the links below:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Westbrow Press Books