Relying on God relationally
And socially! Bear with me on this one
I am an introvert at heart.
But, I also genuinely enjoy being with people…they just exhaust, too…
And, on top of that, for a brief period of time in my life, I was convinced that I was called to be single. (but that’s a whooooole other story)
So the idea of relying on God relationally, socially, romantically…seemed like a no-brainer.
But didn’t feel like it made a ton of sense either.
How is God supposed to “complete me” in these areas of my life?
Well, there is a lot that I could say about why we need to rely on God in these areas of our lives, but what I want to hone in on is the how.
…
Because God is the one being in existence who is completely and utterly Other from us, there is no similarity between God and us, but…at the same time…we are made in the image of God and, therefore, there is also no being in existence that is completely and utterly interconnected with us.
The best way we can wrap our minds around this is with a parent and a child.
A child is completely different from a grown adult, their parent…but that child means the world to the parent and that parent feels deeply and inextricably connected to that child.
And the child feels a sense of that, too, but doesn’t fully understand it either. (At least, most of us don’t until we have children of our own)
So, how does this connect with prayer?
Because we need to be praying for relying on God at this deeply connected level.
Social and relational connections will never run as deep as our connection with Our Father, even if we don’t fully understand that yet.
In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus prays for his disciples to know God like he knows God…
…Jesus prayed for his disciples to know God as well as God knows God’s self.
And that’s crazy.
And that’s what Jesus wants for us.
Do we even know ourselves as well as we think we do? Haven’t you ever met someone who seems to know you better than you do? How much moreso can God know us?
And we are supposed to pray that we can know God as deeply and inimately as God knows God’s self.
Reflect on that, pray about that. And pray for reliance on God in all aspects of your life.
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for knowing us more intimately then we can ever understand. Jesus, keep praying for us and with us. Spirit, thank you for your constant movement in my life to understand God and myself better. Amen.
Remember
The best way to seek reliance on God is to start praying regularly, no holding back. Make it a habit. Keep it a habit. Pray always.