Receptivity

Prayer is communication. Communication requires a transmitter and a receiver. Radio communication takes a station broadcasting on a certain frequency (Transmitter), and a radio tuned to that frequency (receiver). In prayer we often see God as the receiver. We make the prayer to God and He hears us. He receives our prayer. It is seen as a one way street, much like the radio, with  one transmitter, and one receiver. We transmit and hope God is tuned into our frequency. But what about when God is the one who is doing the talking. Do we receive as well as we transmit? In prayer, is God the only one that is supposed to listen? Of course, the answer is no. We are supposed to listen for the voice of God, not only tug at His ear.
A Biblical example of how communication between God and another person is both successful, and short circuited can be seen in the book of 1st Samuel. In chapter two a woman named Hannah silently prays to God. She is distraught over her barrenness and asks for a child. She is thought to be intoxicated because her lips are moving, but there are no words coming out of her mouth. God who knows her heart, also hears her prayer. God hears the silent, heartfelt prayer. Her answer is soon realized as she feels new life in her belly. God receives perfectly. There is no short circuit where God is concerned.
On the other hand, the priest Eli, who supposes she is drunk because of her inaudible prayers is addressed by God himself and refuses to listen. Communication is short circuited on the receiver end. God heard the woman’s prayer and answered, but when God transmits a message to Eli he will not listen.
In 1 Samuel 3, the boy given to Hannah as a result of her prayers is ministering at the tabernacle in Shiloh. He hears the voice of God in the night. God tells him that He has pronounced Judgment on Eli, the priest, because he would not listen. This is interesting. Hannah prayed silently, and God heard. God sent a prophet to audibly speak to Eli, but Eli turns a deaf ear to God. Eli’s wicked son’s are killed and Eli’s family is removed from the ministry (1 Samuel 4). Samuel, on the other hand hears the voice of God and becomes a prophet (1 Samuel 3:21).
How often do we short circuit communication with God? Our ability to hear God is more important than our ability to transmit messages to Him. What He has to say is more important than what we have to say. If we think a successful prayer life is seeing the hand of God move as a result of our prayers we are only partly right. A successful prayer life is hearing and being moved by the voice of God.The message for us here is that we must not only transmit to God, but we must be receptive. True communication is a two way street. Perhaps a radio is not as good an analogy for prayer as a walkie-talkie.  Effective prayer is a two-way street.

Birthday Girl

My daughter is nine years old today. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself during church. The giggles were bouncing off the walls as she and her friends gathered around the table for Ice Cream and Cake and the birthday girl opened her gifts. As I watched the lively bunch together, I could not help but remember the day she was born and how we nearly lost her.

Born four and three quarters pounds, diagnosed with a serious bowel infection, the doctor gave a grim prognosis and offered little hope (Jer. 8:22). We were told that the next twelve hours were critical. If she could hold on until then she would have a slim chance of recovery. My wife and I turned to God in prayer, our dependable source of hope in times past. We called all the prayer chains we knew to call and bent our knees (Psa. 34:6, 86:7) to the one who gave us this little girl and asked him to preserve her life. The atmosphere at the neonatal unit was drastically different when we returned. The grim face of the doctor was changed to perplexity. He was not a man of faith, but he had never seen such a condition turn around so quickly. He had expected our little girl to be barely hanging on at best, but now she was not only hanging on, she was thriving (Psa. 103:4). He could not explain the difference. His medical books and scientific mind predicted sickness and possible death. When told of our prayers he offered no objection. He had no alternative answer for such a quick recovery.

Nine years later I am still rejoicing over how God answered our prayers. We have had nine years of Joy and she is a testimony to God's grace. He has brought hope from despair, health out of sickness, turned sorrow to joy, and snatched life from the grip of death. Sarah is a living testimony to the power of prayer. We are truly grateful to God for our little girl (Psa. 107:8; Phil. 2:27).