static

This week we had our first (ever we think) Drive-In Church service in the parking lot.  The concept is simple (stay in your cars), and the technology is old (Drive-In's were super popular 60 years ago) but most churches had never tried one before and so it was new and a bit scary to see if it would actually work.

​Our biggest fear was that the sound would be poor.  Since it was raining on Sunday, people couldn't open their windows so we really needed the radio signal to work well.   We had tested and tested the equipment, but never with this many cars.  We were worried that after all this work and promotion, we would end up with static. Static means that your message is lost.  Static means that you can't quite connect.  Static means you are a bit fuzzy or unclear.  Static is bad.

Sometimes, I feel like there is static in-between me and God.  I want to hear Him, but the message is fuzzy.  I hope He hears me when I pray, but I often don't get a response and the conversation feels lost.  Prayer is hard and we worry that we aren't communicating well or clearly.

The Biblical truth is that God does hear and see us at all times; but only chooses to answer some prayers, which is hard for us to understand.  God loves us, but only does what is good for us (according to His understanding of good, not ours).

In 1 John 5, for example, it says "if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."  This is just one example of many scriptures where it makes it plain that God responds not to every whim request we might make (asking for a ferrari for example) but to our prayers that are in line with His will.

So don't think that God doesn't hear you, He does, but He might not give the answer you desire.  He might say no because what you have prayed for isn't in line with what's good for you or others.  He might say "not yet" which means we have to wait until our prayer is in line with His timetable.  He might say yes and give you the answer you desire...but this will be because you are asking in line with His will for you.

Oh, and the static...just spend some time with God, it will clear.  Jesus said that he is the good shepherd and the sheep hear his voice.  Listen, wait and you will hear clearly soon.


In Christ,
Pastor Scott