Week 1 — Friday: Entering Into The Holy Conversation

1 Samuel 3:1-10 

I was invited to a White House briefing one time and heard the Vice-President of the United States talk about various issues of concern for the country. Never once did anyone ask my opinion, seek out my counsel, or just invite me into a conversation. It was all way above my pay grade. 

What’s amazing is that every day, Jesus, our God and King, invites me into a personal conversation with Him. Prayer is the word used to describe in the spiritual life the holy conversation, the interaction, God initiates with humanity. This holy conversation is fully realized in Jesus, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. It is this crucial Word that we desperately need to hear. Prayer is important to who we are and how we will live. 

In this conversation, we excel at telling God our needs, at crying out for help in times of crises, at sharing with God our desires, our wants, and our concerns for both ourselves, and others. All of these are appropriate, but it tends to be a very lop-sided conversation. While the Lord Jesus may have valuable insight and life-giving information and instruction, He seems to get very little time or space to speak in our prayers. 

One of the chief purposes of prayer is to deepen our relationship with God. This holy conversation of prayer is best experienced as a dialogue and not just a monologue. We may therefore need to practice silence a bit more and listen for the word God is speaking in the moment. We need to learn again to listen to the most important voice in the room. Possibly Samuel’s prayer, “Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening” is an appropriate beginning to this holy conversation.

—CONTRIBUTED BY JON BYRON —