March 04, 2009
May 12, 2006
This is NOT a telephone conversation
Ministry in another culture often gives us insight into who we are and our own relationships. Recently a friend and I were talking about phone calls. I said that I really don't like them, I would much rather meet face-to-face. He told me of a common saying he picked up in another culture where he was working as a missionary. They would say to him, “This isn’t a telephone conversation!” meaning, of course; “this is important, it isn’t the type of thing we would discuss on the phone, it demands your attention.” I like that.
The lack of visual and contextual cues does in fact limit a sense of the intimacy--and therefore importance of a conversation. If I can see your face, feel you there with me, then the conversation takes on, at least for me, a more “real” dimension. I feel more satisfied, more certain of the outcome. As I have been using instant messenger a lot to talk with BCOM students out on Global Internship around the world, I have noticed that I tend to put an image of their face in my mind, and then I try to imagine their reaction as they see my words and write theirs. When they use an emoticon of some sort, I try to picture them using the same emotion. I want that personal touch!
It really is much the same when we pray. Prayer—our communication with God, is also an intimate and face-to-face issue. I imagine that many of my prayers in the past have been more like a text message on a cell phone; type it in as few words as possible, choose "God" from your contact list and hit send, then go back to your "real" work. The reality is that my communication with God is like all my other communication, I get the greatest satisfaction out of it when I put the most into it, when I give Him time, when I stop long enough to see His face (a concept which screams for further explanation, perhaps another time), when I let Him talk, when I expect Him in fact to answer, and when I am very aware of His presence.
So, slowly, over time, I am learning what I wished I had learned before I myself went out as a missionary, and what I want this generation of missionaries-in-training to know and understand. Prayer, our communication with God, isn’t a telephone conversation. It isn’t an online chat or a series of text messages. It is and should be far more—an intimate engagement with a God who wants me in His presence more than I am yet able to desire, who patiently, lovingly draws me toward Himself. It demands that I set aside time, not just minutes here and there, but significant pieces of time, in order to meet Him, to be with Him long enough to hear His voice, to know His presence, and to be confident in His words. We don't just need a message from Him...we need Him.
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger” Ps 27: 8-9 (TNIV©.)
The lack of visual and contextual cues does in fact limit a sense of the intimacy--and therefore importance of a conversation. If I can see your face, feel you there with me, then the conversation takes on, at least for me, a more “real” dimension. I feel more satisfied, more certain of the outcome. As I have been using instant messenger a lot to talk with BCOM students out on Global Internship around the world, I have noticed that I tend to put an image of their face in my mind, and then I try to imagine their reaction as they see my words and write theirs. When they use an emoticon of some sort, I try to picture them using the same emotion. I want that personal touch!
It really is much the same when we pray. Prayer—our communication with God, is also an intimate and face-to-face issue. I imagine that many of my prayers in the past have been more like a text message on a cell phone; type it in as few words as possible, choose "God" from your contact list and hit send, then go back to your "real" work. The reality is that my communication with God is like all my other communication, I get the greatest satisfaction out of it when I put the most into it, when I give Him time, when I stop long enough to see His face (a concept which screams for further explanation, perhaps another time), when I let Him talk, when I expect Him in fact to answer, and when I am very aware of His presence.
So, slowly, over time, I am learning what I wished I had learned before I myself went out as a missionary, and what I want this generation of missionaries-in-training to know and understand. Prayer, our communication with God, isn’t a telephone conversation. It isn’t an online chat or a series of text messages. It is and should be far more—an intimate engagement with a God who wants me in His presence more than I am yet able to desire, who patiently, lovingly draws me toward Himself. It demands that I set aside time, not just minutes here and there, but significant pieces of time, in order to meet Him, to be with Him long enough to hear His voice, to know His presence, and to be confident in His words. We don't just need a message from Him...we need Him.
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger” Ps 27: 8-9 (TNIV©.)
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