conversations

a couple days ago i was sitting in my kitchen ranting to rachel, my little sis, and i was talking about how frustrated i was with listening to peoples problems and then having them treat me like crap when they dont have problems. who i was talking about is totally irrelevant and is not something that i am planning on sharing, but what i do want to share is what rachel said to me and realized while we were having this conversation. people talk to me a lot because i tend to be a good listener and keep things to myself and i am pretty good at giving advice and being able to relate to a lot of people. so i was talking about how i was frustrated that when there were a lot of problems in their life then suddenly they needed me but when nothing is wrong then they dont need me and dont feel the need to talk to me anymore. it was also frustrating because when they do talk to me they demand instant answers and want me to fix everything or they dont ever wait for me to give them advice or listen to anything that i was trying to tell them.

as i was telling all of this to rach she said something that really hit me and it was this: "whoa! i just realized that what you are explaining to me right now is exactly what Christ feels and the way that a lot of people treat Him." this one sentence made me view everything that i was feeling in a completely different way. i then began to see what i was experiencing as something given to me from God as a way to understand what it is that i make Him feel and how much i really need Him in every aspect of my life whether things are going good or bad. i need to talk to Him always and tell Him everything thats going on in my life regardless of if its good or bad. and not only do i need to tell him what is going on and ask for help but i also need to stop and listen to the advice that He gives and to make sure that i am in a position to hear and then follow the advice that He will give me if i will only ask. i am going to put in the effort to make my prayers a conversation with the Lord each and everyday because it will help me through the hard times and will make the good times even better. if im not willing to put in the time to listen to Him why should He put in the time to listen to me?

"There is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer. We do not need to go through secretaries or make an appointment to reach the throne of grace. He is reachable at any time and any place.” -James E. Faust

"Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God's voice is its most essential part. Listening to God's voice is the secret of the assurance that He will listen to mine." -Andrew Murray