Married to God? Teen Spirituality Part 2

People talk about having a “relationship with God.”  What the heck is that?  I don’t know about you, but it’s not very natural to have a relationship with someone that I can’t see, someone I can’t touch, someone I can’t hear. 

I’ll admit: it does take some development and work to figure out.  But, guess what: so do relationships with people that we can see, touch, and hear.  Yeah, you can be in contact with lots of people, but to have something called a “relation-ship” it takes some skill and effort.

Here’s the thing with my wife.  She’s on my mind a lot.  I like that.  When we’re at home together, I like to touch her when I walk past her.  Sometimes it’s because I think she’s a babe and sometimes just because I like her to know that I like her and know she’s there. 

When I’m at school I try to call her at least once during the day just to say hey.  Lately we’ve tried this thing where I leave her a longer message on her cell phone just to tell her what I’ve been thinking about lately.  It’s hard to find time for that level of communicating when you’ve got four lovely, but attention-needing, kids at home. 

When I come home from work we try to take a few minutes for just the two of us to talk about how our day was, the things that happened, and so forth. 

When it’s finally time to head to bed, and once the kids are down, we lay in bed and talk or read.  Either way we like to touch and be close. 

 

We also do date nights once a week.  We LOVE those!  We also get away for a weekend without our kiddos at least four times a year. 

So…what’s the point here?  Over the course of almost 15 years of being married we’ve developed a rhythm of being on each other’s minds.  It takes effort and planning and yet it’s so natural.  Do you want to relate to God?  Do the same thing.

Begin to train yourself to have Him on your mind.  It’s the same as texting your friends.  A lot of texting is just about random “whatever” stuff, but it’s meaningful because it says, “Hey, I like you enough to check in.” 

So, before a test or quiz, ask Him to help you, not because it’s a like magic spell, but because You know He cares.  In the car or bus on the way to school, talk to Him in your head.  I’m not talking about praying through some list.  I mean just talk.  Tell him what you’re thinking about, what you’re worried about that day, what you’re excited about. 

When something cool happens, say “Thanks, Dad.”  I make a point to always tell my wife thanks for little things she does.  I want to stay tender and tight with her.  I do the same with God. 

When you’re worried, get in the habit of talking to Him.  I often am saying, “Holy crap, God.  What do I do here?  Give me some insight.”

My favorite is just chatting with Him.

The Bible uses these words to describe what I’m talking about: “pray without ceasing.”  It means don’t stop praying.  You don’t need a “prayer time,” a list of requests, or a church service to do this.  It’s just relation-ship.  You get in the habit of having the One your love on your mind.

Now, usually when you’re in a relationship the other person talks back.  I’ll try to explain that one in another post.