Hi there!
Thanks for stopping by! I’m wondering something….
Would you talk with me about about faith? God?
God? Faith?
I can already feel you pulling back. Your finger is hovering over your phone’s screen to push me out of the way.
Wait!
Please…
Don’t swipe away just yet.
I’m just curious. I want to listen, if you’d like to talk.
I’m here as a friend, not as someone with a loudspeaker.
Not wanting to push something on you or try to force an argument
I’m just wanting to listen…
I was reading about youth and spirituality the other day, and I came across this line:
“I tried praying a few times, always felt like a bit of a dumbass.”
The speaker went on to say that all they got back after they prayed was silence, and that made them feel dumb. Like, “Is anyone out there?” “Is God listening?” “Does He even care?”
Silence.
Silence…..that’s all I seem to hear when I try to talk to Him. So why bother? He never answers.
I wonder if that sounds familiar for you?
What’s that sound?
Funny story…. the other day I was with a friend of mine. She’s in her late 70’s, and her grandson had just given her his old iPhone because he was upgrading. My friend was overjoyed that she had a new phone, though she confessed to not having much luck making it work.
On this particular day, we were talking together over coffee, when suddenly a quiet but upbeat chiming sound began somewhere under her.
For a few moments she didn’t seem to notice, so we kept talking.
The chiming got louder.
We both stopped talking for a moment, and I quietly felt my cell phone in my pocket. It wasn’t vibrating which meant it wasn’t me.
The music continued, but louder!
“What IS that?” She asked, looking everywhere, deeply puzzled. “And where is it coming from?”
I pointed to her purse that sat in the little travel basket of her walker. “Maybe it’s your phone?”
She frowned as the music continued.
“My phone? My phone doesn’t make that sound……” then her voice faded. She turned around and reached into her purse. After rummaging around for a moment, she pulled out her new iPhone, and the music got even louder as she removed it from the padding of the purse.
“Oh.” She said as she struggled to unlock the screen.
“I’ve only had this thing a few days, and I still haven’t gotten used to it. My grandson…he has it all rigged up with stuff.”
Turned out it wasn’t a phone call, but an alarm which she was eventually able to shut off.
Where am I going with this?
I guess I’m just wondering something….that new iPhone was hard for my friend to figure out. She had heard it ring before, but never quite like that which is why she didn’t immediately grab it.
She wasn’t used to all the sounds it made.
I realize that iPhones and trying to figure out why God doesn’t seem to answer is well….a shaky analogy to work with, but here’s my question for you…
What do you think God sounds like when He speaks?
I mean, if God is real and all.
If you have felt silly or like a dumbass when you’ve tried talking to God and seem to get nothing when you talk to Him, then take heart my friend. You are in good company! Experiencing silence when we pray is frustrating, isn’t it? Especially if we are really seeking an answer, help or hope. I’ve experienced that, and know the hurt and frustration those moments of silence can bring.
But I’m wondering something, and with this question I’ll let you go on your way and thank you for reading this far…
What if God has been talking with you all along, but you haven’t noticed it was Him?
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