Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Conversation keeps you connected. Today's Verse of the Day has a direct connection to your relationship with God, as well as your relationship with people.
It's 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 1. "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them."
Imagine sitting across the table from your best friend and not saying anything at all. You might know them well enough to read their body language or see their eyes and know what they're trying to communicate with you. If you spent enough time with someone, that's a really good sign of friendship—close, intimate friendship.
But if you ever expect to grow beyond where you are right now, there must be some form of communication.
Spiritual Communication with God
In a spiritual sense, your relationship with God requires communication. He wants to talk to you. I would venture to bet He's speaking more than we give Him credit for.
We look for opportunities to hear Him. We read His Word. He's speaking all the time. But how often are we speaking to Him? He wants to know you. He wants to hear your voice. He loves you so much.
Pray for All People
He brings up a very clear point in this Scripture. The author is saying: "Pray for people. Not just the people you like."
Pray for the people you don't like. Everyone is on the table.
Why God Wants to Hear Your Prayers
Why does God want to hear you pray for other people? Well, I think that helps you stay connected to the people around you. It shows that you're invested in the lives of those that you care about. It also keeps you attentive.
Think about this: If God wants to hear your prayers about another person, that means you actually have to know other people. It means you have to make effort to go out and, in whatever capacity you can in your stage of life, have touch points.
Making Those Touch Points
It might be that you go out and get breakfast with your friends, or you wait till the end of the day and you go get dinner with somebody, or while you're at work, you stop by somebody's desk and check in and see how they're doing.
Talking to God about everyone means that you should know more than your immediate sphere of people.
My Encouragement to You
I'd encourage you today, as you're looking into what a meaningful relationship with God looks like, one of the keys is communication. Not just communication with others, but communication with God about others. That's going to bring everybody together.
Lean into that. Talk to God about the people you love and listen for what He might have to say about them.
