Manna For Moms

Devotions for Moms Like You!

Devotions

Labor Days

Megan Breedlove 2 Comments

Maybe your labor in bringing your child into your home began with contractions. Maybe it began with filling out agency paperwork. Maybe you labored in having to recover from a planned C-section (as I did four out of the five times).

Whatever the case, you labored to bring your child into your home.

And then the real labor began.

I labored with one of my children for 14.5 hours. It was a Pitocin-induced labor, so you can imagine what those contractions were like. And I didn’t have any medication, because I wanted to try natural childbirth. But when the induction failed due to lack of progress, I opted for a C-section.

Even those 14.5 hours were a piece of cake compared to the labor I’ve gone through with my son since his birth.

I don’t mean that he’s a difficult child; he’s not. But as every mother knows, the actual physical labor (whether due to contractions or to completing home studies and paperwork) is the easy part. Even when it seems like it will last forever, you know it won’t. There will eventually come an end when your baby is born into the world or your child is brought into your home.

Then comes the hard part.

That’s because the labor after you bring a child into your family is never-ending. True, you may have some moments or even weekends of relaxation, but there is always labor to go back to.

Nursing your baby. Fixing lunches. Driving the carpool. Cleaning up after a sick child. Disciplining your child. Falling into bed exhausted. Then doing it all over again the next day (or maybe even in the middle of that night).

And a mom’s daily, ongoing labor is little recognized. Rarely do we hear the expressions of appreciation we wish we received. Rarely does someone tell us we do an amazing job. It’s not every day that someone throws her little arms around us and says, “Thank you for being the best mommy in the world.”

I’ve written elsewhere about how God can and will affirm us anytime we need to feel appreciated (see, for example, my book Well Done, Good and Faithful Mommy). But I wanted us to take a minute today to stop and realize that God knows exactly how we feel.

He puts in far more labor in parenting us than we do in parenting our children, yet rarely do we stop to praise Him for His amazing Fatherhood. Rarely do we tell Him how much we appreciate Him (unless He’s just done something for us). Rarely do we (figuratively speaking) throw our arms around Him and thank Him for being the best Daddy ever.

The next time you put in a long day with your children, let that be a reminder to you to stop and connect with God. Take some time and thank Him for the long day He just put in with you. After all, at least you get some sleep, whereas He never sleeps. He’s constantly watching over you and taking care of you.

You can’t force the people around you to completely meet your needs for appreciation, because they’re not made to do so. But you can make it a point to fully appreciate your Father—or at least to appreciate Him as much as it is possible for an imperfect human being to do so—and to tell Him so.

When was the last time you stopped to thank and praise God for His care of you? Why not do so right now?

Psalm 121:2-4—My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (KJV)

Better Off

Megan Breedlove No Comments

Phil holding TimmyYesterday morning, our church held an awards ceremony for the children during the education hour. This ceremony was designed to recognize the children for the work they’ve done all year long in attending Sunday School, demonstrating good effort in learning, mastering Bible knowledge, etc. There was also a light lunch served, which is always welcome.

About two-thirds of the way through the ceremony, Phil got Timmy out of the nursery so he could feed him some lunch. Timmy didn’t seem to be interested in eating it, though. He was restless. So Phil got up and stood with him at the back of the room. This didn’t pacify Timmy, however. He wanted down. He struggled and made those little “eh-eh-eh” noises that mean “Put me down!” Phil let him down, ready to scoop him up again if necessary.

It wasn’t. Timmy took three steps toward the middle of the room, looked around at the crowd, and turned and darted back to Phil, stretching his arms up to be picked up. Thereafter, he was content to remain in Phil’s arms.

You and I know how he felt. There have been times in all of our lives when we weren’t content with the situation we were in. When we wanted out of it. When we kicked and struggled and protested. Sometimes when we do that, God remains firm and refuses to allow us to have our own way (thanks be to Him). Other times, God says, “Okay, fine. You want your own way? I’ll let you see what that’s like.”

At first, we’re happy. Maybe even relieved. We start toward the Promised Land, whatever that is—that thing we’d previously been denied. But then, hopefully, we stop. We realize, Wait a minute. This is big and scary. This is not for me, and we turn and run back to our Father’s arms.

“See?” God says, receiving us back. “That was not for you.”

Other times, however, we wade right into the middle of what we think is the Promised Land before realizing, far too belatedly, that it isn’t what we thought it would be. It’s full of heartbreak and confusion, not joy and peace. God was right after all. We were wrong.

In those moments, moms, we sometimes make the awful mistake of assuming that it’s too late. That God won’t want us back anymore. That we’re stuck with the path we’ve chosen. That there’s no way to go back.

But there’s always a way back, and a Person to receive us when we return.

You see, no sin has to separate us from God permanently. That’s exactly why Jesus died—so we could be close to God for all eternity. If we wander (or run) too far away, we can always turn back, because God is always willing to receive us. He’s always waiting for us to come home and realize that we were better off with Him, even though we didn’t have what we thought we wanted.

Jesus told a story about a son who royally messed up his life (see Luke 15:13-23). This young man totally blew it, and it was his own fault. (There was really no way to see it otherwise.) He had spurned his father and his father’s grace and love and gone his own way, toward what he thought was the Promised Land. But when he got there, he found out that it wasn’t. It was a land of desperation and aloneness, separated from the father who loved him.

So he made plans to return and then put those plans into action. He returned and began to confess his sin. But even before he could get the words out of his mouth, his father—who had been waiting and watching for him, by the way, despite his behavior—met him and restored him to fellowship.

Precious mom, do you need to return from a far country today? Do you need to admit that the Promised Land, well, isn’t? Do you need to realize how much better off you had it when you were following God and living in harmony with Him?

Don’t delay. Run back. God is watching for you, and His arms are open and waiting to receive you. Don’t delay.

Luke 15:20—So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (NIV)

No Good

Megan Breedlove 4 Comments

hula hoop signOne of my daughter Ellie’s best friends is a young lady named Anastasia. Only a month older than Ellie, she and Ellie have become fast friends over the past few years. A few nights ago, Anastasia and three of her siblings stayed overnight with us. The next morning after breakfast and plenty of DVD watching, I took the kids outside to play.

Anastasia was drawn to our hula hoops. She’s actually quite good at hula-hooping. As she practiced, she would call out for me to watch her, and I always watched the neat tricks she did.

I should mention here that I am terrible at hula-hooping, and so are my kids. None of us can get the hoop to go around our bodies more than about half a time before it falls to the ground. So my kids are impressed that Anastasia can do well at something they can’t. It doesn’t seem to bother them that they can’t do the same thing; they’re simply happy for their friend, and content in their own abilities.

That’s exactly the reaction we should have when we see someone else with abilities that we do not possess. We should be happy God has chosen to bless that person in that way and remain content with the ways He has chosen to bless us.

Sometimes, however, we’re not happy for the person in question. Instead of rejoicing that she gets to enjoy one of God’s gifts, we become resentful that we don’t have that same gift. We may even take out our resentment on that person, allowing it to affect the relationship we could have had with her. And sometimes we carry it even farther, to the point where we think that if we don’t have that same gift, we’re nothing.

Precious mom, God does not love Anastasia any more than He loves my children just because she can do something they can’t. He doesn’t prefer her over them because she possesses an ability—which He gave her, by the way—that they don’t. And He doesn’t think any less of us or love us any less just because someone else has more or different gifts than we have.

It’s not like God gives abundant, spectacular gifts to those He loves, and the rest of us get whatever’s left over. He distributes gifts as He wills, according to what each person needs in order to be able to carry out God’s plan for his or her life. So the fact that you don’t have a particular gift or set of gifts simply means you don’t need it—not that you are less than someone else in any way.

Besides, you do have your own spectacular set of gifts, whether or not you recognize that they’re spectacular. Your gifts are amazing because they were hand-picked by God for you, in accordance with what He has planned for you. They were chosen with care and love by God Almighty and given specially to you and to no one else in exactly the same way.

With your gifts, you can bless others in a way that’s unique among every other way on earth. So be content with the gifts you do have, and look for ways to bless others with them, instead of wishing for what you don’t have.

If you’re no good at hula-hooping, who cares? God certainly doesn’t.

Hebrews 13:5—Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (NIV)

Sparkly Pink

Megan Breedlove No Comments

Pink Hello Kitty ShoesThere’s just something about sparkly pink shoes that attracts young girls. Young boys, too, as it turns out. That is, toddler boys. Specifically, Timmy.

Two days ago, our family attended a child’s birthday party. There was a giant water slide in the back yard as well as a couple of pools of varying sizes. Naturally, all the kids left their shoes clustered around the entrances to the various attractions.

Timmy must have thought he was in heaven. He loves to put on people’s shoes and walk around in them. He’s got great balance for a kid his age, and he can walk fairly easily without stumbling even in shoes that are way too big for him.

This time, Timmy’s shoes of choice were some sparkly pink Hello Kitty clogs that belonged to our neighbor girl. It was fortunate that we knew her well, because every time we turned around, Timmy was toddling off someplace in her shoes. A couple times, we tried to take them away from him and put them where he wouldn’t notice, but he always found them again. And, since we knew the shoes’ owner wouldn’t mind, we eventually gave up trying to get him to leave them alone.

At Timmy’s current age—about 17.5 months—it’s fine for him to toddle around in sparkly pink girlie shoes if he wants to. It doesn’t really matter that those clogs weren’t made for little boys, or that Hello Kitty isn’t designed for little boys either. It’s fine for him to enjoy these things now because after all, he’s young. All he knows is that the shoes are pretty. He doesn’t know they’re not really made for him—that is, for a boy.

You and I sometimes get attracted to things that aren’t made for us, either. Something looks pretty, sparkly, and pink to us, despite that fact that it’s not ours and isn’t supposed to be. Perhaps we’re pursuing the wrong ministry at church. Perhaps we’re staying home when we should be working, or working when we should be staying home. Maybe we’re pursuing a person we were never meant to have a relationship with.

Whatever the pink, sparkly thing in our lives, it might not be meant to be ours. How can we tell for sure? We ask the only One who knows for sure, that is, God Himself. He knows exactly which pretty things are meant to be ours, and which are off-limits to us.

Our mistake isn’t in liking pink, sparkly things. We’re made that way. The mistake comes in pursuing something we were never meant to have.

Is there something in your life right now that you’re pursuing because it looks great to you, but which you were never meant to have? Maybe there’s that nagging doubt—otherwise known as the still, small voice—in the back of your mind that whispers, This isn’t for you. Maybe others have told you it isn’t for you. Maybe you know good and well it was never meant to be yours, but you pursued and obtained it anyway.

There’s one way to make things right, and it starts with going before God and asking Him to reveal to you anything you’ve been pursuing which He doesn’t want you to have. Believe me, He will be more than willing to tell you. And once he does, you have to give it up, and maybe even repent of some sin in your life.

It probably won’t be easy to give something up. Giving up attractive things usually isn’t easy. But it will be so much better for you to have the right pair of shoes even than it would be to have a pair of pretty, pink, sparkly shoes that were never meant to be yours.

Do you need to relinquish any shoes today?

Ecclesiastes 3:6—A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. (KJV)

Kinda Obvious

Megan Breedlove No Comments

PizzaThe other day around suppertime, some friends of ours were on their way over. Our refrigerator had died in the middle of the night, and our friends were going to help us get rid of the old one and pick up the new one I’d bought. In order to feed everyone, I decided to order pizza. My kids were well aware that I was planning on calling for pizza. In fact, they were ecstatic.

And that’s important for you to know—that they knew pizza was on its way. Because twenty-five minutes later, I heard Kenny call to me, “Mom, someone’s at the door, and I don’t know who it is.”

“You don’t know who it is?” I asked him, puzzled.

“Nope,” Kenny said. “But he’s wearing red and blue.”

At this point, I realized who our visitor had to be. “Is he carrying pizzas?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Jessica.

“Then it’s probably the pizza guy,” I said.

I would have thought that would be obvious—a guy in a recognizable uniform (we’ve seen it many times before) standing on our porch holding a stack of pizzas. I mean, he probably wasn’t a robber. He probably wasn’t some random stranger looking for directions, or somebody selling magazines. He was probably—remember that he was holding plenty of pizzas—the pizza guy everybody knew was coming.

I found the incident funny. It can be cute when kids don’t realize something that’s obvious.

On the other hand, it’s not so cute when you and I don’t realize something God says should be obvious to us.

Some things, we will never fully understand until we get to heaven. Like the nature of the Trinity, for example. We’ll spend all eternity learning about them.

Some things, God may choose never to tell us, like the reasons behind some of His plans, actions, or seeming inactions.

But other things, He’s made glaringly obvious.

Let’s talk today about just one of those things—the fact that when we sin, it reflects the reality that our heart’s not right before God in that area. You and I may be aware of our sins, but rarely do we stop to consider that our sins reveal a heart that needs to be cleansed.

Over and over in the Bible, we’re told that what’s in the heart is vitally important—that everything else in life springs from that. So when something bad springs from our lives, it means that our heart is bad, at least in part.

When I snap at my kids, my heart isn’t right. When I nag my husband, my heart isn’t right. When I fail to make it a priority to spend time with God, something is definitely out of whack in my heart.

Oh, we have plenty of excuses. I’m tired. I don’t have time. He/she deserved it. But instead of making excuses, we need to look at what it is in our heart that would have caused us to do or say such a thing (or fail to do or say something).

Is there selfishness in our heart? Anger? Malice? Any of those things we’re told repeatedly to put far from us?

When we sin, it ought to send up a red flag for us that our heart needs some work. We should examine our heart, asking God’s help to search out the sin. And then we should repent.

When we look at our sin, it should be just as obvious that our heart has a problem as it is when looking at a guy in uniform carrying pizzas that the pizza guy is standing at the door.

Luke 6:45—The good [mom] brings good things out of the good stored up in [her] heart, and the evil [mom] brings evil things out of the evil stored up in [her] heart. For out of the overflow of [her] heart [her] mouth speaks. (NIV)

Proverbs 4:23—Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (TNIV)

1 Peter 2:1—So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander.

In Style

Megan Breedlove 2 Comments

Yesterday, my best friend Lori and I went clothes shopping. The trip was primarily for me, as I have been working on losing weight and need clothes that fit my new size. Lori, as a former model, is not only beautiful, but also very knowledgeable about fashion and what clothes look good on people. So she went with me to our favorite store to help me pick out clothes that would flatter my figure.

I loved having her with me, not just because she’s my best friend, but also for her expertise in this area. With her there, I felt confident that I would come home with clothes that fit my budget (she’s budget-conscious like I am) as well as fit my body and made me look and feel good. Since Lori is also honest, I knew that if I picked out something that wouldn’t really look good on me, she would tactfully say so.

In other words, Lori was my mentor yesterday in an area of life that is important to me. But there’s another area of my life that’s far more important than clothes, and that is the area of spiritual things. Because spiritual things are so important, I want a mentor in that area too, even more than I do when picking out what to wear.

Most of us would benefit from having a spiritual mentor in our lives. A spiritual mentor is someone who is farther along in the faith than we are and can help guide us along the path. This woman will be more mature than we are and will know us (or come to know us) well. She will speak truth into our lives and rebuke us when necessary; she will walk with us through our struggles and share some of her struggles as well. She’ll be that person we can lean on when we need godly guidance, comfort, wisdom, or encouragement. She’ll check on us when it’s been awhile since we’ve talked, yet she’ll also be sure we maintain regular contact with each other. In short, she will truly care about us and be willing to invest her life in us and in our spiritual growth.

Does it sound wonderful to have a woman like that involved in our lives? It truly is. I have been blessed with more than one mentor with whom I can be completely honest and completely myself, and receive from her nothing but understanding, support, and encouragement.

It may be that you also have such a mentor. If you do, thank God for your mentor, and then thank her for all she does for you. If you don’t, you might consider one of two possibilities. The first possibility is that God might want you to mentor someone else. Maybe He wants you to come alongside somebody in the way I’ve described and help her know Him better. Or, the second possibility, maybe He wants you to pray, asking Him to send a mentor into your life.

It’s possible that right now, this is a season for you to walk on your own. But it’s also possible that God has a wonderful woman in mind to mentor you like we’ve talked about. If you need any further ideas on how to look for a mentor or whether you should ask someone, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. It’s what I’m here for. I’d love to encourage you.

Titus 2:3-4—Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. (ESV)

Not Quite Right

Megan Breedlove 2 Comments

Timmy with ice cream coneThe other day, the kids and I joined Phil in the cafeteria at his work for supper. The kids got to eat their favorite foods and play on the awesome playground. To top it all off, Daddy announced that he was buying everyone frozen yogurt!

We went to the frozen yogurt shop, where everyone got to have tastes of the various kinds and then choose a yogurt (cone or cup) with whatever kind of toppings they wanted. Even Timmy got some, as I partially filled a cone with vanilla yogurt for him.

Timmy immediately began eating his yogurt, diving right into it with his entire face. He was happy as a clam. Until, apparently, the yogurt level in the cone got too low and he had to find another solution for getting the remaining yogurt out of the cone and into his mouth.

“Mommy,” one of the kids called out, “Timmy’s eating his cone upside down, and he’s really making a mess.”

Sure enough, Timmy had turned the cone upside down to get at the last few bites of yogurt. The only problem was that some of the yogurt fell out the top of the cone and all over him. He had the cone about half eaten from the bottom by the time we discovered him. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the mess dripping down his face and arm and covering his clothes. He was content with having found a way to get at the remainder of his sweet treat.

The way Timmy was eating the cone was not quite right—at least not in the traditional sense. But it served his purposes. The only problem was that it made a huge mess.

You and I sometimes try to eat our cones from the bottom too. What do I mean? Simply this: that sometimes, when something’s not happening the way it’s “supposed” to, we turn to alternate means of getting the results we want.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes we need a little creativity to make things happen. The problem comes in when we choose methods that aren’t in line with the way God wants things done. We try to force things ourselves. And when that happens, we always make a mess.

When our husband doesn’t show us the sensitivity or understanding we hope for, we choose to nag him instead of pray for him and speak with him calmly. We make a mess.

When our kids don’t obey us, instead of praying and working on discipline, we yell. Messy.

When we want to feel good about ourselves, instead of seeking affirmation from God and appropriate encouragement from others, we brag. Or we tear others down verbally. Or we gossip. Messy, messy, messy.

It all depends on whether or not God wants that last little bit of ice cream to be eaten. If so, it’s okay to turn the cone upside down. But if He doesn’t—if He’s said there is to be no more yogurt for us—we dare not turn the cone upside down unless we want to make a huge mess God never intended.

Getting the things God wants by using a little honest creativity (upside down cone) is probably fine. Getting things we want but God doesn’t by using that same creativity? Or forcing things to happen that God has said no to? Not okay.

Be careful when you turn that cone upside down. Getting what you want by the wrong means is never, ever as satisfying as getting, by the proper means, what God wants you to have.

Deuteronomy 10:12—And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (ESV) (emphasis mine)

Excluded

Megan Breedlove No Comments

This past week, my son Kenny has been attending a day camp sponsored by our city. He loves their program, which includes games, play time, and various activities in a group of kids approximately his age.

One day, however, when I arrived to pick Kenny up, his teacher asked to talk with me. She explained that some of the other children had been deliberately excluding Kenny from a game, and it made him cry. She told me what she had done to deal with the problem (I was very pleased with her efforts) and said she would be on the lookout in case anything similar ever happened again.

Naturally, on the way home, I talked to Kenny about it. He admitted that he had been sad but said he still wanted to return to camp the next day. The whole incident didn’t seem to bother him too much.

But the point isn’t just Kenny’s amazing attitude. The point is that in the moment when Kenny was crying from the pain of being excluded out of deliberate meanness, Jesus understood. And Jesus understood not only because He’s God, but because He was excluded too.

People didn’t always like Jesus very much. In fact, some people (mainly the Pharisees) hated Him so vehemently they repeatedly tried to kill Him until they finally succeeded. He was completely excluded from their inner circle, despite the fact that He was the one they should have been worshipping.

Even the disciples excluded Jesus at the time of His arrest and impending crucifixion by abandoning Him. They didn’t want any part of Him. And Peter denied three times that He even knew Jesus or was a part of His group.

We know these things about Jesus, but we don’t always think about how Jesus must have felt. Just because He was God doesn’t mean He didn’t feel the pain that comes from being excluded. In fact, the Bible tells us that He was “despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. He knew how it felt in that moment when Kenny cried.

Not only that, precious mom, He knows how you feel when you are excluded. When your husband excludes you, or your friends or family, or even strangers, He knows how it feels. When someone doesn’t want you to be part of their group, He understands. When people don’t want anything to do with you, He feels that pain.

You see, Jesus came to earth not just to take the punishment for our sins, as if that weren’t enough. He also came to identify with us so that He would experience what we as human beings go through. He was willing to suffer rejection and exclusion so He could understand what you feel like when it happens to you.

Those memories about times you were rejected or excluded? He knows how you feel. The pain going on in your heart right now because you are currently being excluded? He understands. He’s felt it too.

What all this means is that you can take your pain to Him and find in Him someone who truly “gets it”. He’s not just going to tell you to get over it; He’ll help you heal. And He’ll do it because He wants you to know that you are not alone in your pain. He will never exclude you or reject you. He’s on your side.

So run to Him. Let Him take you in His arms and love you. Let Him begin to heal your hurts. Lay your head upon Him as He holds you close, and hear Him whisper, “I understand.”

Isaiah 53:3—He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (ESV)

Hebrews 13:5b—He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (ESV)

Independence Day

Megan Breedlove No Comments

FireworksThis past week, we in the United States celebrated our Independence Day (usually known as the Fourth of July), the day in 1776 we declared ourselves to be our own country under our own rule. There are as many ways to celebrate the Fourth as there are families in America. Our family’s celebration included burgers for lunch and going to a water park in the afternoon. (Fortunately for us, our Mexican neighbors’ celebration included cooking out on their grill and bringing us a bunch of their extra food.)

Every year when this holiday comes around, the stores gear up for it in advance. They run sales on steaks and sunscreen, chips and beach towels. Families make plans to attend fireworks displays and spend special time together. And all of it is in celebration of the day our ancestors affirmed themselves to be their own nation, a decision with far-reaching consequences and benefits that reach forward in time to this very day.

As Christians, however, we have an Independence Day to celebrate that observes far more than the day we became a nation. Actually, we have two Independence Days. One of them has already come, and the other is still in the future.

Our first Independence Day came when we accepted Christ and He declared us to be His. No longer were we slaves to sin. We were independent from sin, free to choose Christ. As our rector said in church this morning, there are many ways to be enslaved, and before you and I met Christ, we were slaves to sin. But Christ set us free from sin and its rule over us. No longer do we have to obey it as our master. We are now under different rule, a freely chosen government, which is Christ.

You see, accepting Christ doesn’t just mean that Christ frees us from sin so we can live however we want to live, free from restrictions set by anybody. He sets us free from sin for the purpose of inviting us to come under His rule, a rule which guides us into abundant life.

That was our first Independence Day—when we were freed to choose Christ.

Our second Independence Day has not yet come. That’s because the second Day will come only when we reach heaven. In heaven, there will be no more sin. Yes, we’re free from having to obey it down here, but sometimes, out of pure insanity or perhaps misunderstanding of the fact that it has no hold on us anymore, we still choose to obey sin. In heaven, we will no longer choose sin over obeying God.

Already there is no more slavery. But in heaven, there will be no more sin, either.

I’ve already had my first Independence Day, and I pray you have too. (If you haven’t, contact me, and I’ll be glad to introduce you to the One who can set you free.) But I long for the second Day, too. Don’t you?

Galatians 5:1—For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (ESV)

Sharing with Mommy

Megan Breedlove No Comments

My oldest daughter Ellie loves to read. She enjoys novels, to be sure, but she also enjoys reading magazines and books that tell her lots of information. When she comes across a particularly interesting fact, she likes to come share it with me.

“Mommy!” she’ll say, arriving at my side with an eager smile. “Wanna hear about….” and she’ll fill in the blank with the subject of whatever neat tidbit she has just discovered.

I love that Ellie is so eager to share with me. I hope that continues into her teen years and even beyond, into her adult years. That’s because I love her, and I love connecting with her in a fun and interesting way.

I bet God loves connecting with us in a similar way. In fact, I know He does. God’s always ready and waiting to hear from us when we pray. The only problem is, most of us aren’t interested in sharing with Him very often. When something interesting happens in our lives, we share it with our family, our girlfriends, and the entire world (via Facebook), but we rarely talk to God about it.

You see, God doesn’t just want us to pray when we need something. Just as we wouldn’t like it if the only time our daughter spoke to us was when she wanted something, so God wants us to speak to Him on a regular basis, not just when we need Him to do something for us.

The Bible commands us to pray with all kinds of prayers and on all occasions. But do we really? Most of us confine our prayer life to “thank You for the food” and “please bless all these people on my list”. Do we ever come to God for other reasons? Not very often.

We could, if we wanted to, come to God for anything at all, and He’d love to listen to us. We could talk to Him about our day, about how disappointed we were when our favorite baseball team lost in the playoffs, or about a funny joke we heard. True, it’s not like God doesn’t know all those things already. But remember that the purpose behind talking to God is not to convey information to Him, as Ellie does with me sometimes. The purpose in talking to Him is simply to be in relationship with Him.

It’s hard to have an intimate relationship with someone you never talk to, or whom you talk to only when you have a request. It’s much easier to relate to someone you talk to about everyday things, hopes and dreams, triumphs and failures.

Why don’t we talk to God this way? Maybe we think He’s not interested. Oh, but He’s interested in anything we have to say, simply because we’re His daughters. Maybe we think we don’t have time, but we all have time to shoot up a quick prayer now and then throughout the day, telling Him about something or thanking Him for something.

Do you talk to God on a regular basis? I hope you do. Is your prayer life confined to a list of requests? If it is, you need to broaden your conversations with God and talk about other things as well. God wants to be your Friend, not just your genie in a bottle. And with such an amazing, incredible Friend as He ready to listen to anything you have to say, why wouldn’t you take every chance you have to talk to Him?

Ephesians 6:18—And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (NIV)

« Previous Page — Next Page »

You Missed

Devotions

Priorities

Devotions

I Wouldn’t Do That

Devotions

Little Things

Devotions

8 Seconds