something new

I'm getting baptized today.

Some things I've learned

After a long hiatus, Sojourn is back...for now.

Something I've been thinking about lately is the nature of conversing with God. How do we do it? Does God talk back to us? How do we hear Him? What should we say?

To be completely honest, I'm not 100% sure of any of the answers to these questions. I have a few ideas - namely, the point is more that we are trying to establish a relationship with our Creator as opposed to asking for things, but I still wrestle with the fact that it's a little awkward to "shoot the breeze" with someone who knows everything, and isn't physically present or speaks audibly. How do we "spend time with God"?

I am certain of a few things, though. Number one - God does still speak. There have been a few times where I am absolutely certain that I heard God speaking. Very, very, very few, but they exist. Number two - the Lord's Prayer is always valid. It's things for us to pray when our words or thoughts fail us. Number three - it is important to keep praying, even when we feel like our prayers fall into the void. In Revelation 8, it speaks of an angel offering incense, with the prayers of the saints, as an offering to God. This suggests a few things - number one, that our prayers are a pleasing offering to God, and two, that they are not wasted, that they have a purpose.

In conclusion, I don't know a lot about prayer. I don't know how it works, or why it works, or why God even wants us to pray. But I do know this - prayer is more important than we can fathom, and is a spiritual discipline that is critical for Christians to practise.