worship

Searching for Cows & Kings

/ EloquentMuse / Leave a comment

In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old… Amos 9:11

If you haven’t heard, there’s a big commotion in the religious community, especially among Jews. There’s a statute in the Old Testament (Torah) that makes priests do a certain type of sacrifice in order to be clean enough to serve the temple.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come… But if he does not cleanse himself (with the ashes of the sacrificed heifer)on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him. Numbers 19:1-13

So, this is a big deal to them because they’re really wanting to build the “third temple” in order to fulfill the prophecy that when they do, Israel will finally be unified and safe from people usurping them from their sacred land (which they consider Jerusalem). They believe this will usher the coming of the King promised in the Torah.

Well, a red heifer has been born, and so far, it meets the specifications for many rabbis, despite it being born from a North American red angus embryo implanted into an Israeli domestic cow. Here’s the reason I’m shaking my head about it, take that as you will.

Let’s go back to the first temple.

After King David moved into his new house the Lord gave him some relief from all of his enemies around him. King David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a fancy house made of cedar wood, but God’s Holy Box is still kept in a tent!”

Nathan said to King David, “Do whatever you want to do. The Lord will be with you.”

But that night, the Lord’s word came to Nathan:

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. I did not live in a house at the time I took the Israelites out of Egypt. No, I traveled around in a tent. I used the tent for my home. I never told any of the tribes of Israel to build me a fancy house made from cedar wood.’

“You must say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: I chose you while you were out in the pasture following the sheep. I took you from that job and made you the leader of my people, the Israelites. I have been with you every place you went. I have defeated your enemies for you. I will make you one of the most famous people on earth. And I chose a place for my people, the Israelites. I planted the Israelites. I gave them their own place to live so that they will not have to move from place to place anymore. In the past, I sent judges to lead my people, but evil people gave them many troubles. That will not happen now. I am giving you peace from all of your enemies. I promise that I will make your family a family of kings.

“‘When your life is finished, you will die and be buried with your ancestors. But then I will make one of your own children become the king. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his kingdom strong forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he sins, I will use other people to punish him. They will be my whips. But I will never stop loving him. I will continue to be loyal to him. I took away my love and kindness from Saul. I pushed Saul away when I turned to you. Your family of kings will continue—you can depend on that! For you, your kingdom will continue forever! Your throne will stand forever!’”

Nathan told David about that vision. He told David everything God had said. 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Notice, it wasn’t really God’s personal plan to have a temple at all. This was David’s idea because he was uncomfortable with the idea that God’s “home” was a tent while he lived in a grand place.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 1 Samuel 8:4-9

It wasn’t really God’s personal plan to have a king over Israel. God being God, He allows people to deal with the natural consequences of their actions. They wanted a temple, and God saw that it was out of the goodness of David’s heart, so He gave them a temple. They wanted a king, which God saw as NOT out of the goodness of their heart, but He gave them a king. He turns all things to good in the end.

However, we aren’t progressing further into a future that looks more like man’s vision of a holy kingdom. We’re progressing further into a future that looks more like God’s vision of a holy kingdom. That doesn’t include a human king or a physical temple. But, you may be asking, what about the temple even Jesus talks about building? What about Ezekiel’s vision of a temple? What about the other many times the Bible mentions a future temple?

Concerning Ezekiel, who existed and prophesied before the age of Jesus, there is much speculation. He lived after the first temple was destroyed, and described in detail a grand temple prophesied to be the second temple. One thing to notice is the context and timeframe he’s speaking in. Also, there’s such a thing as a conditional prophecy. If this, then that. If not, then that won’t occur.

Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple” Ezek. 43:10–11

Very few Jews turned back from Babylon and returned to rebuild the second temple after the first was destroyed. Therefore, the temple built was not to Ezekiel’s scale. Whether Ezekiel’s temple vision is conditional or not, there’s one thing for certain, especially if you believe in Jesus’ salvation through blood.

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. John 2:19-22

Jesus was talking about returning God’s vision of His kingdom. No one understood at the time what He was actually going on about. The Jews at the time thought they were still waiting on Israeli royalty to show up and raise Israel to glory. They are still waiting for Israeli royalty to show up and raise Israel to glory. That’s why they’re so excited about the third temple.

Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.” These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. John 12:14-16

Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”

Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:33-37

What is God saying in all this? He’s saying that He is the temple and the King. You don’t need stones and human rulers wearing crowns. Those are shadows of the real kingdom of God.

What is the purpose of a temple? It once was considered the “home” of God, a place to perform sacrifices and worship. First of all, we don’t do sacrifices anymore because Jesus finished sacrifices with His death on the cross. If you believe we still need sacrifices for our uncleanness or sin, then you don’t believe that Jesus’ death meant anything.

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”

Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, Hebrews 10:4-12

If you believe we need one man-made building for worship, I got news for you. In the time of David, the Jewish population was about 600,000. In the time of Jesus, depending on the source, swelled to about 3 million; out of them only about 1 million were able to trek to Jerusalem for various feasts and holy days. Now, if look at populations today, well that figure is about 10 million for Jews alone. Now, we mix Christians into it, which number about 2.3 billion, and we’re looking at an impossible place for central worship. Unsurprisingly, Jesus said something about that.

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:19-26

What is this Spirit?

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn’t see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you. Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father’s love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them.” Judas (not Iscariot) asked Jesus, “Lord, what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will go to them and make our home with them. A person who doesn’t love me doesn’t do what I say. I don’t make up what you hear me say. What I say comes from the Father who sent me. “I have told you this while I’m still with you. However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you. John 14:16-26

So, if we seek a temple, you see it looking in the mirror. Just as God’s Spirit stayed in the tabernacle long, long ago, He sits within us now.

If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:17

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19

God doesn’t need a temple made by human hands. He made a temple for us.

You are the “third temple,” as the body of Christ. You were raised, booth of David, and you have been repaired. You are clean and forgiven. You have the Holy Spirit within you. Go and do your work in love.

Sources other than Bible:
https://www.thepathoftruth.com/teachings/third-temple-physical-spiritual.htm
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/113476/temple-institute-certifies-red-heifer/
http://www.equip.org/article/making-sense-ezekiels-temple-vision/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/

Commandment Series: The Second

/ EloquentMuse / 1 Comment

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:4-6

Are you burdened with the weight of carrying gods, or is your God carrying you?

The second commandment is very close to the first (not placing any other gods above Yahweh), so much so, one wonders why they are always deemed separate commands. It seems oddly specific, and in the ancient world, perhaps not a strange thing to ask as many pagan gods had followers dedicating idols to their worship. In this day and time, however, you might wonder how the second commandment affects you.

In the prior post about the first commandment, we clarified that “gods” can be anything you serve other than Yahweh: wealth, pride, electronics, even other people, etc. We must place God above everything else in our life, and He will provide. The second commandment tells us not to set up idols of our “gods.” Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not making clay representations of my iPhone and bowing down to it. So, what gives? How do we know what an idol is in modern times?

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Romans 1:20-23

Like the wind, we may not see our invisible God, but He always moving the world around us. No one is excused from not knowing He exists because, as the author proclaims, He is always around us in everything we perceive. Yet, perhaps out of ignorance on how to connect with a God of His glory, people began to worship the creation instead of the creator.

“‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

The problem is, we are putting above us things that we were supposed to subdue. In other words, we forget that we are made higher than everything else on Earth (except angels Hebrews 2:7). We are the children of God! Yet, we “worship” everything that should be in submission to us and forget to submit ourselves to God.

One source below states, “An idol is anything we depend upon to meet the deep needs of the heart—love, security, worth, or significance. When we seek to find identity and security in something besides God, we have made it an idol. John Calvin said, “The human heart is an idol factory.” We often search for peace or identity through relationships, substances, money, or entertainment. Addictions are forms of idolatry, as are a host of other worldly enticements that cannot ultimately satisfy. When we give ourselves to the pursuit of manmade gods, we are breaking the second commandment.”

I’m going to go one step further. Consider this verse.

“Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before me. I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” Psalm 50:7-15

The ancient gods, as well as the new, survive on sacrifice. We must give up something of ourselves or our resources in order to keep them alive for worship. Idolatry is all about greed and selfishness. We give something: we get something. If the “gods” are not satisfied with our offerings, we are punished or ignored. They are selfish, and their followers worship them just to receive things. They need their followers almost more than their followers need them.

Yahweh is quite different. HE sacrificed for US. He needs nothing from us, but He wants us all the same. God is all about selfless love in everything He’s done, and He expects us to be the same. He rains blessings on the good and bad. As a father, He may discipline us, but it has nothing with what He can gain from us.

“Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low. Their idols are on beasts, on livestock. Your loads are more burdensome than their reports. They stoop, they bow down together, and they are not able to rescue the burden, but they themselves go off into captivity. “Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all you remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld from before your birth, and who have been carried from the womb. Even until your old age, I am the one, and I’ll carry you even until your gray hairs come. It is I who have created, and I who will carry, and it is I who will bear and save. To whom will you compare me, count me equal, or liken me, so that I may be compared? Those who pour out gold in a purse, weigh silver in a balance, hire a goldsmith in order to make a god, and then they bow down and even worship it. And they lift it on their shoulders, carry it, set it up in its place, and there it stands. It cannot move from that spot. One may even call to it, but it cannot answer nor save him from his distress.” Isaiah 46:1-7

Are you carrying your gods? Are you feeling overwhelmed trying to keep up with the demands of daily life? Are you constantly worried about the future and what it brings? Are you giving up money, time, relationships, or health just to be able to keep your “gods” alive? If you are sacrificing ANYTHING, make sure you are sacrificing for Yahweh, and even then make sure it’s out of love; otherwise, even God doesn’t want it. Find what or who you’re sacrificing for because that’s your “god.” The one true God doesn’t require sacrifice to keep His blessings or love flowing. He won’t drain you. He fills you up. He carries you through life. You’ll never need to carry Him.

Let’s use my phone addiction as an example. I give it my time and attention. In return it gives me entertainment and a sense of social connection. If I fail to give it time, attention, battery charge, it fails to serve me in return. That’s because it’s fallible and a creation, not a creator. My phone should be serving me when and where I need it, without sacrificing my precious time or attention that would be better given to my family. I just need to make sure that I am in charge, not vice versa.

That show “Hoarders” is an extreme example, but those people sacrifice a lot to hold onto their things. They give up a clean home, relationships, health, their sanity. In return, they expect to hold onto what those things symbolize, like memories, the love of family members who gave them the things, or even protection from the world beyond their home as if their things are a hedge around them. They are never truly satisfied. They should be in charge. Their possessions should not be possessing them.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:24-25

You’ll know you’ve built an idol when something or someone in your life requires you to “feed” it in order to keep it in your life, and it’s draining you dry. God made everything and is in control of everything. He’s got you; just let Him do His thing in your life. Let go and let God provide what you need.

Sources other than Bible: gotquestions.org/second-commandment, discovertheword.org

Commandment Series: The First

/ EloquentMuse / Leave a comment

For the next ten weeks, I’ll be focusing on each of the ten commandments. These laws may exist in the Old Testament, but Jesus brings them forward, saying, “”Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17 In fact, Jesus makes a point of elucidating each commandment so that we can all fully understand the meaning behind it.

This week is about the First Commandment.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3

Your first thought may be to consider this an ancient problem. I mean, how hard is it to avoid pagan gods? In some parts of the world, it’s harder than others, but the fact is, you don’t need a golden idol in order to place other gods before Yahweh.

In both B.C. and A.D. times, there’ve been plenty of gods to worship. Many are gods of the water, trees, farming, war, fertility, destruction, creation, fishermen, feasts, etc. etc. If you can think of, well anything, there was or is a god for it. Crazy thing is, nowadays, we don’t usually call them gods in the Western world. So, it can be quite shocking when you realize you’ve been placing a “god” before your real Father.

Take for instance my addiction to my smartphone. There’s no doubt to me it’s an addiction, and I know I’m not alone in this. Some of you are glued to your T.V., your games, your hobbies, your career, your money, or even your pride. Oh, but it’s not harming anyone, least of all angering God, right? That’s a good question.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

Anytime you see your “worldly worship” come before your prayer time with God or serving God in anyway, the First Commandment comes into play. If your phone interferes with family time, if your T.V. shows are glorifying evil, if your hobbies and career keep you in a cycle of greed, if you don’t trust God with your money situation or refuse to spend any to help others, or if you are ever worried about what others think or say about you, you are placing other “gods” before Yahweh. We all have at some point.

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5

Ya know, if you didn’t believe me before. It’s right there in writing.

How about this?

“No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

If you serve another “god,” you’re not loving God completely. You can’t follow God if you’re walking in the opposite direction.

Another one of my favorite verses is this, so I’m posting the whole thing.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans pursue all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

Worry is another problem for me. When we worry, we’re acting as if the world is more powerful than God. We worship at the altar of anxiety and sacrifice it our wasted time. We are placing worry and the problems of this world above God. Yet, He is clear on what we can do instead. We should “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” In other words, place God first, love Him, trust Him. He’s stronger than all feelings, problems, and “gods.” He shall provide.

When changing a habit or stuck mindset, we shouldn’t just focus on the negative, we must focus on the positive. So, we know what NOT to do in order to “have no other gods before” Yahweh, so what SHOULD we do?

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.” Matthew 22:36-38

My all-time favorite verse. This is the first commandment, to love God with all your being and might. If you put Him first in your life, think of every action, thought, and word as if you are representing your God (because you are!). If you do everything out of your abundant love for Him, you’ll be on the correct path.

You won’t be perfect at this because none of us are. However, by choosing God as your master, you WILL be cutting the strings the world uses to make you its puppet, even if you stumble a little when you’re free.

Next week is the Second Commandment, which is closely related to this one but not exactly the same.

אָמֵן Amen

Sitting at the Feet of God

/ EloquentMuse / 1 Comment

Have you ever been hanging out with a loved one or visiting a friend, and suddenly, they’re on their phones engrossed in whatever is on the screen? If it happened only occasionally, it might not be a big deal, but it probably gets aggravating if it happens often, almost as if they’d rather be somewhere else or with someone else. There’s a disconnect despite the fact you’re sitting in the same room.

Okay, here’s another scenario. You show up with chicken fried rice for dinner, and your spouse gets upset because they’d rather have Lo Mein tonight. You’ll probably end up saying that they could’ve told you earlier, right? You can’t exactly read minds.

However, it brings up an important point about relationships: Communication is super important, and since we’re made in God’s image, you should know it’s important to Him too. Although God can totally read your mind, He wants you to reach out to Him, to ask Him if you want or need something. It’s not a guarantee you’ll get it (God actually does know better than you about what you need), but it IS a guarantee you’ll get closer to Him.

Everyone knows about prayer, but what is prayer exactly? Also, is whispering words to the heavens the only form of communication with God?

The best way to answer “God questions” is to look to the Bible; it is one of God’s many ways of communicating with us. I’ve found many holy people in that book who’ve prayed; in fact, it seems to be the most favored way of speaking with God. They’ve joyfully shouted, sobbed, wailed, ranted in anger, whispered in fear, and questioned God’s motives with great trepidation. One thing I’ve noticed is that they poured their hearts out to God, even if what was on their hearts was morally unstable. They communicated to God, and you know what? Without fail, God communicated right back: not necessarily right away.

What do you do if you have a problem in any relationship? You should be bringing it up with the other party, right? Same deal with God. Look no further than the book of Job or several instances when Moses spoke with God in the desert.

There are times when we don’t know what to pray, but we still long to connect to God.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.” Romans 8:26

Yes, prayer with words isn’t the only way to speak with God.

“And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.” 2 Samuel 6:14-15

“Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. Miriam answered them, “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.” Exodus 15:20-21

“And all the skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work which he was performing, and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.'” Exodus 36:4-5

These are a few of the many examples of how people “spoke” with God. Dance, song (which oftentimes served as storytelling as well), using our skills to serve, or giving as much of ourselves and our resources as we can in order to praise our Creator. See, God doesn’t always speak with us in words. He isn’t limited in this way, and we must keep not only our ears but our eyes, minds, and hands open to “hear” Him because He is a multi-sensory experience. So are we.

Every time you meditate on His word, you are communicating with God. Every time you create something in order to praise Him, serve Him, or help others with your work, you are communicating with God. Every time you meet with His other followers to worship Him and help each other walk His path, you are communicating with God. Those moments when you’re in the car singing a praise song, you are communicating with God. Even thoughtfully cleaning your house and cooking meals to serve your family, taking care of your children, and raising them in His ways are many other ways to “speak” with God.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

When you mindfully do things which you know will please God, you are praying without words.

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7

You don’t have to know all the right things to say. In fact, you don’t have to “say” anything at all. Make sure you take the time to be truly alone with Him when you can.

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

The times when God have spoken with me are innumerable. He comes to me mostly in my quiet moments, not because He can’t communicate in a crowd, but rather because I’m less likely pay attention when He does. His words may come in the form of music, a gentle breeze, a bird landing nearby, a commercial, a photo, a simple word whispered in my mind, etc.. He knows the right way to communicate with me so I will understand.

“‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” Jeremiah 33:3

One of my favorite ways to pray is to just sit in silence and pay attention to the here and now. Sometimes, my mind feels like it’s running constantly with too many thoughts scrambling around. I like to think I’m just hanging out with God in comfortable silence. Sometimes, I think of something to say to Him during our moment; sometimes, He speaks to me. Most of the time, it’s just peaceful quality time with someone I love.

Bottom line is there’s no excuse to not communicate and spend time with God. There’s no wrong or right way to do it. He longs to hear from you even if it’s just a reiteration of your day. Worship and prayer go hand-in-hand, and if you do everything with Him in mind, you are spending time with one another and communicating your love for Him. Believe me, if you pay attention, you’ll see He’s always communicating His love to you.