Texting God

The quote below is from Josh Harris' blog which is taken from Paul Miller's book (on my required reading list). It struck me because life on the ship has become increasingly busy and I have attempted to maintain a relationship with God on the fly. I'll just think in my head a few thoughts to God and call it prayer, but this is no more a relationship than text messaging my wife a couple times a day and saying that we have a great relationship. Testing God is insufficient. Time alone with the Lord, with complete quietness, and no agenda is near impossible on a ship with a roommate and all of the demands that people have of you. Any suggestions on how to do it? I'm going to ponder this a bit and try to write on it, but would love to hear from you in the meantime . . .

"Jesus' example teaches us that prayer is about relationship. When he prays, he is not performing a duty; he is getting close to his Father.

Any relationship, if it is going to grow, needs private space, time together without an agenda, where you can get to know each other. This creates an environment where closeness happen, where we can begin to understand each other's hearts.

You don't create intimacy; you make room for it. This is true whether you are talking about your spouse, your friend, or God. You need space to be together. Efficiency, multitasking, and busyness all kill intimacy. In short, you can't get to know God on the fly.

If Jesus has to pull away from people and noise in order to pray, then it makes sense that we need to as well."

- Paul Miller, A Praying Life, page 47