The very best thing about God, I've found, is that there is never a language barrier. Because God reads hearts and minds, and not just words or actions, we can never put one over on Him. He knows the true reason for everything. He knows the whole story without our telling or interruptions. When He speaks to our hearts, the ideas, with all the tiny details are right there, full-blown.

When my son was much younger and scraped a knee or got a cut, he would come in crying. We found that the best way to stop the noise and anguish was to ask him what happened. As the story came out, the tears would stop as he tried to remember just how the story went. Sometimes, the story came out without mention of his doing something that he had been told not to do.

But God knows the truth — the whole story — even the parts that we would rather leave out. Sometimes, He wants us to tell the story so that we will see how ridiculous we are being, or so that we will see the truth behind our situation and the lies that we are telling ourselves, or the lies that others are telling us and we are falling for.

2 Samuel 7:17 – So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision. (NLT)

David's encounter with the prophet Nathan is a good example. God sends Nathan to tell David a story of a rich man stealing a lamb from a poor man who had only the one. God didn't accuse David of doing the same thing when he stole Bathsheba, the only wife of Uriah, but through this conversation with Nathan, He let David know that he wasn't hiding a thing from Him. God was very much aware of his actions.

God is omniscient (knows all) and omnipresent (always there). He communicates to our hearts and minds, and even uses others if we're hard of hearing. I've found Him to be a God of few words (not including a word count of Bibles, translations, and paraphrases!) so we have to listen closely.

When God speaks to me, I often find myself with one-word answers or pictures. After pondering all the things that He might mean, I have that aha! moment when I clearly see His answer, full-blown. Focusing and waiting for the answer with an open mind is the key for me.

Today, may each of us choose to take the time to consider, with a focused and open mind, the truth which God may be seeking to speak into our situation or heart.

Prayer: Father God, thank You that there is never a language barrier with You. You know the whole story, from the beginning right to the end. Teach us to listen for Your words with every fibre of our being, and to focus on Your work and Your hand in our lives. Amen.

I also know the frustration of receiving a call when no one is on the line. Called pocket dialing — and a few other more rude names — these calls are dialed because the carrier of the phone hits the right button unintentionally by brushing against something, and the phone dials itself. My husband carries his phone in his pants pocket without a protective case, and it calls me at the most inopportune times. I would answer, only to hear muffled background conversation, but no welcoming hello.

These pocket-dialed calls have caused me to wonder how God must feel when we call upon Him by using His name in vain, not realizing what we have done, and certainly having no intention of speaking with Him.

Exodus 20:7 – You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power]. (AMP)

I also think of times when we pray but never listen or expect to hear His answering voice.

Luke 18:11 – The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: "God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." (NASB)

Matthew 6:7 – When you pray, don't babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. (NLT)

But prayer, unlike pocket calling, is intended to be a two-way conversation. God will be there waiting to answer, but will we be there listening?

Mark 11:24 – I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. (NLT)

So when we pray, let's have that two-way conversation with God. If we have doubt, let's not be afraid to voice that doubt to Him. He has big shoulders, and He is more than willing to answer this kind of prayer. It will boost our faith for the next time we pray, too.

Nothing is too small or too big for God. Unlike pocket calls that are dialed but no one is on the other end when we pick up, God is always there, waiting to hear from us and to speak with us. So let's pray, and then listen with our focus in the right place, on God and His kingdom, and the answer will come.

Prayer: Father God, we're so grateful that You are always there for us, whether in times of joy or stress. Thank You that prayer is a two-way conversation. Teach us to call on You at all times and in all places so that our faith will increase and our joy in You will be complete. Teach us to focus, listen, and learn from You. Amen.

Our prayer group prays regularly for people diagnosed as bi-polar. It is important that they take their medication regularly for the rest of their lives. When they do, they function well. They ask for prayer for relationships. They can see the problems that their medical conditions have caused. But then, they get to thinking, "I'm better", and they stop taking their meds. It's the same for those with HIV, I'm told.

At the present time, one of our friends is not taking medication. Though she assures us that she knows how to fool the health care worker, we see that she is not making rational decisions.

As I prayed this morning, my thoughts wandered. Often, we believe that we are okay. We think that we can run on residual Bible reading or residual traces of the Spirit in our lives from yesterday. If we run on residuals long enough, like our bi-polar friends, we even think that we can fool God!

But we are human, and we can't even think like God. We need the power that the Spirit provides, constantly, to even begin to look like His Son. One day, we will change permanently, but right now, we need to ask, daily, for the medication which only God can give. And it can't just sit on the bedside table or just be glanced at. It needs to be taken internally.

Luke 9:23 – Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily and follow me." (NLT)

Prayer: Father, like the psalmist, help us to promise again and again, daily, to obey Your righteous regulations, as we can do only through the power of Your Spirit. Give us Your daily bread and Your living water, for they provide us joy, light, and the power that we need to walk as Your children in this fallen world. Amen.