We ALL have communication frustrations!
You need to speak with someone about your credit card, and you can’t get through to a human.
Or maybe you do finally get through, but they simply don’t listen to you.
Or maybe you are blessed with someone who genuinely does listen, who does care, but what you are asking them to do isn’t something they can do!
Then there is that friend who stopped by for a coffee, and four hours later, he hasn’t stopped talking long enough for you to get a word in edgewise!
My biggest communication frustration these days is a 15-year-old. This particular teen has his mind set on mountain biking in the Canadian Rockies, and he won’t let it go. I’ve said “no” about one hundred times, I’ve supplied very valid reasons for my answers: No bike, lack of experience, lack of ability to transport a rented bike, lack of protective equipment, lack of desire to purchase said protective equipment, etc. Nonetheless, he continues to hound me.
Don’t get me wrong, contrary to his belief, I am actually very sympathetic to his desire. I am very motivated to see him on a mountain bike in the Rocky Mountains of Canada! But even more than this, I want him safe!
I have tried everything. I’ve offered him lessons. He apparently doesn’t need those, the bikes they offer aren’t good enough. I’ve spent hours trying to find someone with experience to take him out on the local city trails, but it doesn’t cut it because he wants the Rockies! Nothing I suggest is good enough!
All in all, it has left me emotionally drained, and to be honest, I no longer have the desire in my heart to take him mountain biking, or even to the Rocky Mountains for that matter!
If I’m being perfectly honest, however, I see a lot of myself in him. I also see myself in the phone bots, in the customer service agents who don’t listen or who simply can’t help me. And yes, I even see myself in the friend who wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise…
Why? Because these are all different ways that I respond to God!
When He comes knocking on my door, I don’t always answer! He tries to communicate with me, but I don’t listen, or maybe I don’t want to hear what He’s saying, or perhaps I don’t think I can do what He asks. And yes, so very often, I’m guilty of spending 99.9% of my prayer time talking and never letting God say anything.
And let’s not forget the teenager. So many times I’m like that with God. I have my mind set on something I want, and I get more and more frustrated because He doesn’t come through for me. Of course, I never stop to think that maybe what I’m asking for isn’t good for me. Maybe it would be dangerous, or it isn’t the right time. Often I see God trying to offer me variations of what I want, but each time I shut them down. Take the time I wanted to go to Detroit, for example. God said, “no”. He offered me other solutions for my itchy foot, but in the end, I went anyway. Is anyone surprised I hit a deer and totaled my car? Did I even stop to think that maybe God’s “no” was to protect me?
No, I’m no better than any of these annoying communicators, and in some ways, I’m even worse than the 15-year-old! And if you are perfectly honest with yourselves, you’ll probably see yourselves in the same boat as me!
So what do we do?
God gives us the answers in His word:
The first step is that we have to stop talking long enough for God to be able to speak! “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10a NLT)
Secondly, we must also be seeking God’s voice, for when we do, we will find Him! “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” (Jeremiah 29:13 NLT)
Once we find Him, we need to be willing to listen to what He has to say: “I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people.” (Psalm 85:8 NLT)
And finally, we need to desire His will over our own: “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” (1 John 5:14 NLT).
In summary:
1. Be still
2. Seek God
3. Listen to Him, and
4. Desire His will over your own!
And there you have it, the four simple steps to good communication with God! Why not give it a try? It will yield good results, guaranteed!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
