Day 8 | Prayer: Spiritual Conversations
Deuteronomy 6:5–7 (ESV)
5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
OBSERVATION
I think it is so interesting that you can always tell what somebody loves by how much they talk about it. I have a friend who loves cars. Cars are all he ever wants to talk about, and once you get him started, he won’t stop. Here’s the point: We talk about things we love, and what we love is revealed in how we talk and think.
In this passage in Deuteronomy, Moses shows us that our love for God is revealed by how much he occupies our thoughts and conversations. What we think about and what we talk about can be prayerful worship, and if we love God, then surely, he will be present in our minds and our conversations.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul commands his readers to “pray without ceasing.” I think of our busy, fast-paced lives and think, Does Paul really want us to pray all the time? I would say, yes! But, it might look different than what you think. Sometimes, we limit prayer to little pockets of the day when we formally address God in conversation. But, Psalm 139 talks about how God knows our thoughts, that he is present in all the places of our lives. I wonder what would happen if we started treating our thoughts like prayers.
Moses is commanding us to think about God throughout the day. God is most definitely more than worthy of our time and attention, and he is present in all the moments of our lives. In our homes, He is there. When we leave the house, He is there. When we sleep and when we wake, He is there. God is too big to fit in the slivers of time that we set aside for Him, so praise Him in your thoughts and conversations and he will hear them!
APPLICATION
Sometimes, we can feel anxious that we aren’t doing enough in our prayer life. Let me encourage you. Let God be the focus of your thoughts and conversations. God hears these and they are pleasing to Him. Prayer looks different.
I also want to challenge you. What are the topics that occupy your thoughts and conversations? If God doesn’t seem to be a priority in these things, then take this chance to reflect and figure out what you have been putting above God.
Remember, God is in everything! So, you always have reason to think about God and talk about Him with others.
PRAYER
Dear God, I know that you are present in every place and in every situation. Help me to see you in everything. Lord, take your place as my greatest love. I want my thought and my conversations to glorify you and to reflect my love for you. Forgive me for the times that I have put other things above you. Take your rightful place as the Lord of my life. Be present in my mind, my heart, and my soul. Amen.