Fear No Fear

“We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31, MEV). One of my children assailed me early this morning. I was trying to do something, but they came to speak. They were going on and on about something I have zero interest in. But I stopped what I was doing. I sat down and leaned back. I listened. I commented. I asked questions. I engaged myself in the speaking. I did not do it because I wanted to understand the thing I had zero interest in. I did it because I loved them. Because I seek to understand THEM. To know what interests them and why. To know what intrigues them and captures their attention. To know where they are at and what influences are reaching them. It was an opportunity to show love through attention. To HEAR them. In those (many) minutes I thought about whether this is how God feels about us. If He stops what He is doing in order to give us attention. To HEAR us. To listen to what we have to say. Not because we are saying super important things every time we speak to God. But because He LOVES us. Because He wants to KNOW us. Because after we speak, He speaks and we have the opportunity to know HIM. Because prayer is a conversation that is a two-way street. Prayer is also worship, our acknowledgement of who God is and what His position is in our lives. We serve a God who is big enough and powerful enough to create EVERYTHING we can see – and a LOT that we don’t. Who is big enough to RESTORE that creation to what it was always supposed to be. Who interacts with every single human being. That’s a BIG God. That’s a BUSY God. That’s a POWERFUL God. And yet, He stops what He’s doing in order to interact with each and every one of us every single time we open our hearts and our mouths to speak to Him and listen to Him. That’s love!