How many of you have received a piece of snail-mail that was written to you by a friend or a family member?
Recently?
Apparently hand-written letters are not as enjoyed as they once were. Everything has migrated to technological marvels. Social Media, Email, Text-speak, pod-casts, blogs, ….
Though the social platforms reach many people, and very quickly, there is nothing like that time-worn expression of sitting down and taking the time to compose your thoughts and say something to someone else. As fast as our fingers fly, or our voice speaks, we often share our emotions more than our thoughts. As quickly as our emotional response is expressed, we press the button that cannot be undone…
Enter the ENTER key!
If cooler heads would pause, think it through, and then share the word that is in their heart then we would probably have some wiser conversations that would prevail.
- Work would be more successful.
- Relationships would be in better shape.
- And our communications would produce better results.
How many of you have ever written a letter as an act of confession, or contriteness? There is something to be said in taking the time to write our thoughts, commit them to the written word, and then share the results with a recipient.
Hmmm… Makes me wonder! Those cute little letters our kids write to Santa. I wonder where they end up at? In a “dead letter” pile – with all the other letters that can never be delivered… Sad. A waste of time and energy on something no one will ever read. Just waiting for a time to be recycled!
But then I think of The Diary of Ann Frank… There’s hope!
What are some of the most important acts of “writing” you can take? The one that comes immediately to mind are the legal documents that allow me to leave this life and know I’ve communicated my wishes to my heirs – My Last Will and Testament – It used to be a document that stated your foundation, what you believe, what you own, and what you bequeath to your heirs. Your last wishes … after you’re gone. It’s too late to make a difference in someone’s life and enjoy the response… But you have the possibility to make a difference by your actions after you’re gone.
How about that composed card you send to a loved one on a special day? Doesn’t Hallmark say it better than you? Sure. They’ve had practice! But what if you composed your own words? Well.. Rhyming is not my thing. Poetry does not flow. And then I have to worry about penmanship, spelling, grammar, and all the other things about writing that’s ugly! What if I mess up??? Well.
Practice to the side before you pen inside…
Writing is something we struggle with. After having my writing critiqued by someone who is judging the facts, penmanship, complete thoughts, grammar, spelling…. It’s almost an invasion of my inner thoughts by someone who can willy nilly use a red pen and grade me. But if my writing is well thought out and presented, should I not be willing to have these internal thoughts judged by someone else?
Where am I going with this? Imagine with me a moment if you would take your time and write your own letter to God! We understand going to God with our prayers – Spoken words. Internalized thoughts. Breath prayers. But what if we took it a step further? What if we unloaded our entire heart before the Lord in the form of a journal, diary, or letter? Logical thought, not emotional upheaval. Concise presentation, not a rambling prayer.
Maybe we should spend more time with our thoughts and compose a letter to God!
Paul says, in Philippians 4:6 KJV, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
What’s found in “every thing”? Well. Everything!
In other words. Take everything to God in prayer and supplication… And do it with Thanksgiving…. Let your requests be made known unto God. Everything? Sure! Worries, requests, struggles, doubts, failures, successes…everything!
Maybe we should compose our prayers, write them down with pen and paper, and take them to God for deeper consideration.
Would our written words be more concise? Perhaps… Prayer often gets mumbled, jumbled, and very thoughtless.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (7) But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. (8) Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Matthew 6:5-8 KJV
Hypocrites pray to be seen of men – and not praying in secret…Heathens pray to have their words heard by their vain repetition. But God, who sees in secrets rewards you openly….
So. Maybe we should take more time with our prayers!
The problem most of us have is that we take more stock in our emotions about a situation than we do the facts. Emotions drive our fears as much as it drives our joy. We act, and react, much quicker than we think it through. Facts, figures, knowledge and law are chased out of the equation.
It’s almost as if we’ve trained our reactions to be a result of our emotions more than facts! When we’ve trained to be a hammer, then everything is some form of a nail!
This does not mean we should not train to fight, rather it means we should know what we should fight, and what we should love.
- We should KNOW the truth, and the truth will set us Free! (John 8:32)
- We should follow the teachings of Jesus and Love our Enemies! (Matthew 5:44)
- We should follow the writings of the Bible…
Why? Because most of us see the Bible as a Letter from God! Most of it was composed as a letter documenting life lived to others who needed to know.
Let me add another thought to the fire. How about taking a letter to God that you received from someone else? There are prayers just waiting to be shared even when someone else is writing their own letter.
Here’s an example of someone who received a threat of war and destruction. What to do?
And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. (15) And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. (16) LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. (17) Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, (18) And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. (19) Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.
2 Kings 19:14-19 KJV
Notice… Hezekiah went to church, approached the altar, and spread the letter out before the Lord… God! Hear my prayer. Read this letter.
He is an affront to you… Now. Take care of him!
Jesus taught the value of a private and face to face prayer time.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:6 KJV
The Ultimate Face Time with God!
God has penned a letter to you… It is found in the binders of the book you should hold dear. That book we call the Bible. David shares this thought in the middle of the longest chapter of the book.
LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. (90) Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. (91) They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. (92) Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. (93) I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me. (94) I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. (95) The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. (96) I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
Psalms 119:89-96 KJV
How about reading the letter penned from God’s own thoughts? How about composing your own letter to God?