Key Verse: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” v.46
The radio host had my attention. The subject was intriguing. His arguments, passionate and compelling. I had been listening to the interview for about 15 minutes, waiting on a particular session of the program. After the commercials, the host continued the interview and asked his guest the question I was waiting to hear. I turned up the volume and inclined my head towards the speakers. The next thing I heard was a sequence of squeals and squelching noises, erasing any chance of understanding the much anticipated answer. I turned the radio dial back and forth, to no avail. When the program was finally audible again, the interview had ended. Radio static had filled the air, preventing me from understanding the most important part of the interview.
Have you ever felt the same way in your spiritual life? You may be eager to hear His voice and directions, and yet, all you hear is… static. Random thoughts invade your mind. Uninvited silence permeates the room. You yawn, feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Rather than God’s voice, you hear different sounds. Frustrating, huh?
Spiritual static is a reality to every Christian. At some point in time during our journey with God, we all have had moments when we seemed to have “lost connection” with the Father. Many times, it merely means that God is silently waiting for the right time to reveal His plans. Other times, He is just in the business of quietly loving us. During those moments, His silence does not frustrate us. Our heart seems to know it – God wants us to enjoy the silence of His loving presence.
However, there are moments when our prayer time is filled with a lack of peace and unrest. Rather than silently enjoying His presence, I feel like getting up and starting my day.
Can you relate? Indeed it is tempting to dismiss this disconnect and go on with life as we know it. But we shouldn’t. As a matter of fact, what I have learned is that it is during those times that I need to raise the red flag and search my heart. Something is amiss. The connection was lost.
Invariably, when the interruption in communication is followed by lack of peace, I am the one to blame.
Whenever we experience spiritual static during our prayer time, the best thing to do is find a quiet place and ask God to show us what is preventing us from hearing His voice.
It could be that, like David before repenting, we have unconfessed sin. It may be a blunt sin that keeps us enslaved to immorality or addiction. It could also be sins of the heart, those subtle emotions that we allow to take root in our lives, affecting everything, including our relationship with Yahweh: Feelings of pride, envy, hatred, unforgiveness, among others. These little monsters become strongholds that create huge waves of spiritual static until we identify them and allow God to exterminate them for good.
But there is a more subtle culprit. This spiritual static ally can infiltrate our hearts without us realizing it: Delayed obedience. That is what I was guilty of when silence and unrest filled my prayer time not long ago.
I was feeling uneasy for several days. Spiritual static filled my prayer time. I finally decided to get to the bottom of it. As I retreated to pray, openly searching my heart for any hidden sin, I honestly could not find anything. Yet, I had the intense feeling that God wanted to show me something.
And so He did.
Several weeks ago, God had given me a couple of tasks, which, quite honestly, I did not want to carry out. Using busyness as an excuse, I kept avoiding the subject day after day and procrastinating obedience. “I’ll do it”, I thought, “just not today.” That morning as I prayed, God showed me exactly what He thinks of delayed obedience. He reminded me of how I feel when I ask our daughters to clean their rooms once, twice or three times over, without success. I had a vision of their messy rooms and the frustration and anger that rises up each time they don’t follow through with their given tasks.
That’s when I realized… How can the Father show me the next step, if I do not complete the small tasks He gives me? God’s commands are not optional. I was disobeying Him.
Is there something that God wants you to do and that you are fiercely avoiding?
It could be sharing Jesus with someone you know…
It could be bringing your tithe and offerings into the house of God…
It could be breaking up with the boyfriend or girlfriend whom you know is not God’s best for you…
It could be simply taking the first step and saying YES to a calling… to go on a mission trip… to teach a Sunday School class… or minister to someone in need.
Whatever small or big step God tells you to take, even if you feel inadequate to carry it out, obey Him TODAY. Do not wait, do not procrastinate. Forget the excuses. Delayed obedience is disobedience and creates dangerous spiritual static in your life, preventing you from hearing the Father’s voice.
Ask Him to give you the courage to take the first step. Say “Yes, Lord. No more excuses.”
Next, get up and get moving. You have no time to waste.
Because the last thing you want is to miss His best for you.
Verses to Ponder:
