So, my phone rang and it was my son. Although it was great to hear his voice, I had to ask why he was calling me from upstairs.
Apparently, he thought I had gone out with Tracey and the girls and so the only way he thought he could get a hold of me was on the phone. Once he realized I was in the house he hung up (can you hang up with a touchscreen mobile phone?) and came down and talked to me. Phone’s are okay, but talking face to face is better.
God is present with us but often we talk to him like he is far away.
Sometimes I’ve heard people describe prayer as being like a phone call with God and whilst I’m not against using that analogy, it can reinforce the lie that God is distant.
In the Christmas story, the angel said that Jesus would be called ‘Immanuel’ which means God is with us. That is what God wants us to know, that he is present! He is with us always and we need to speak with and relate to him with this in mind.
You see, we talk differently to people when they are with us than we do when they are far away. My dad sometimes asks to me about computer problems and because we are a few hundred miles from each other he knows I am not going to appear and fix his problem. The best I can do is to try to guide him over the phone and this is difficult because I can’t physically see what the problem is. When I am staying with my parents and they have a computer problem I can actually (well hopefully anyway!) resolve the problem by being hands on.
Sometimes we talk to God like he is far away. We can describe problems in detail (like he can’t see) and then expect him to offer us guidance so we can fix things ourselves.
In prayer, when we remember that God is present, we realize that we often need him to describe what is going on to us because he has a unique perspective. God is not at the other end of a phone trying to help blindly, he is with us and he wants to work in our lives and the situations that we and others face in a hands on way.
How do you view God? Do you believe that he is far away but listening or that is he present, with us always?
Whatever you believe, the truth is that the Jesus who said ‘I am with you always’, really is. Now what could be better than that?
Honest about my faith 