Salvation — Wednesday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 11:32
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (ESV)
Two nights ago, my wife and I were in Target walking around and looking at stuff we don’t need. (FYI, we only bought a single basket, so I’d consider that a success.) At one point, we heard what sounded like a panicked child. We could hear yelling and screaming back in the electronics section. When we made it back, we saw what was actually going on. A child (probably 3-4 years old) was yelling and screaming at her parent. The mother was doing her best to pacify and console the child, but the child was having none of it. Internally, we both wanted to go over and show the mom how to properly discipline that child. Later, we talked about how thankful we were that neither of our kids ever treated us like that.
But that’s exactly what happened with Mary and Martha in this story. Separately, they both came up to Jesus and scolded Him. They both let Him know how angry and frustrated they were that He didn’t come sooner. And in both instances, Jesus did the same thing. He listened. He allowed them to say what they needed to say. He didn’t shush them. He didn’t berate them for talking down to the King of kings. In fact, he did just the opposite. He wept with them.
Jesus wants us to speak to Him. He doesn’t demand that our prayers be eloquent or polished. He just wants them to be authentic. He wants us to share our hearts. He wants us to talk to Him about our hopes and dreams and desires. He wants us to apologize for the things we’ve done and to ask for help in following Him. Sometimes, those prayers are long and drawn out. Sometimes we don’t even have words. Other times, our prayer may be an angry cry for help. Whatever our prayer is, He listens. He allows us to speak to the Lord and Creator of the universe.
Too often, we take this for granted. I looked up what it would cost to gain an audience with a few different “important” people:
Justin Timberlake ($1,900,000)
Michael Jordan ($1,200,000)
Brad Pitt ($750,000)
Tyler Johnson (Lunch at Local Taco… just kidding)
People spend well over one million dollars to spend a few moments talking with actors or athletes, yet don’t take time to talk to the most powerful person ever for free.
And that’s the part we can’t miss: the God of the universe, the One who holds everything together, invites us to come to Him anytime, about anything. No cost. No appointment. No perfect words required. So the question isn’t whether He’s listening, it’s whether we’re actually talking to Him.
APPLICATION
Take a few minutes today to simply talk to God. Not a scripted prayer. Not something polished. Just honest. Tell Him what’s on your mind: what’s frustrating you, what you’re hoping for, what you’re struggling with. And if you don’t have the words, just sit with Him.
This evening, we've got a great opportunity to sit with Jesus. Join us at any campus for First Wednesday Worship at 7pm. Learn more here.
PRAYER
If you aren’t in a regular rhythm of prayer, sometimes it’s hard to get started. Use a couple of these as starting points. Just be honest and talk to Him.
“God, here’s what’s on my heart today…”
“God, I don’t really know how to say this, but…”
“God, I’m frustrated about…”
“God, I don’t understand why…”
“God, I need Your help with…”