Conversation

In the first few years of my Christian walk I thought the only way God spoke to us was in reading His Word & through the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  Conviction is like hearing a siren go off right before crossing 6 lanes of traffic going 80 mph, its a warning to send us to turn & walk safely away from impending doom.  You know that its God too.  The Bible shows us truth.  This way of thinking is like a one-sided "relationship", the other person is always there but its only you doing the talking.  True Christianity is 2 sided and more than the occasional conviction to do or not do.  Over time God has guided me by speaking to my heart in very specific ways.  A couple days ago He & I were talking, having a full conversation about a few different things He is leading me to change so I can grow in Him and so He can give me a healthier life.  The conversation lasted a while and during the talk I was looking for that "siren" to go off, but it didn't.  The Lord showed me, told me, that it doesn't always have to be that way.  He wants to be in constant conversation with us in order to have a great relationship with us and to lead us to a full life in Him.

Psalm 62:8, "Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah."

The psalmist is constantly pouring his heart out to God and if you've read Psalms then you know that God constantly and specifically replied to him.  The Bible has lots of examples of God speaking to people in very specific and personal ways, we are no different than any of those people. He wants conversation with us!! I'm not saying that this is audible, but when the Spirit of God lives within us we can clearly hear Him from the inside just like we can hear ourselves thinking. Its how we can have a conversation with Him without ever opening our mouths. I need to do this more, some days He and I talk and talk and some days I get to the end of the day and realize that we haven't talked at all.  I hope I get better about it; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 teaches us to pray continually, I hope I'll get to the point that I do that.  He thinks about us all the time:  "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.  When I awake, I am still with you."  We all need to get in conversational prayer!