Day 11: Becoming Best Friends with God

There was one thing from yesterday's reading that I forgot to mention (since it was all crazy and split up). It talked about making a simple contract with God, basically doing a symbolic signing over of your life. Another cool idea. . . like the green card, I don't know if I'll do it, but I just might.

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Although I like to think about the time just before creation (as you read in a previous entry), thinking about life before the Fall of Adam is pretty amazing too. Although I don't think that Adam and Eve ever really saw God, they heard and recognized His Voice. There was no question as to His existence; after all, as far as Adam and Eve knew, the Garden of Eden was the only area of land in the whole world! And God didn't just create "playthings;" He created something in His own image and gave it freewill (as shown by the choice to take the fruit from the forbidden tree) so that they could have authentic interaction. What greater love could be expressed than that? I still think Tolkien captures it best with the story of the Dwarves that I alluded to in that earlier entry.

I also love the reminder of the torn veil that symbolizes the link between humanity and God established at Jesus' sacrifice. It also reminds me of a great song you should go listen to. "Who am I to be invited to stand beside the King? The mystery of eternity only sacrifice can bring. . ."

And He wants to be our friend??? And not just a casual friend, but on the level of the best man or the king's inner circle (I want to look up the etymology of this word. . . I bet Pastor Melissa Scott has done something on it). Wow.

The book has two suggestions to work on that close friendship with God. First is having a constant conversation. After all, we are told to pray without ceasing, and what is prayer but conversation with God? It's not just about setting aside time for Him (but which I do feel is important) but incorporating Him in EVERYTHING we do. A constant awareness of His presence is the only thing that makes us realize that we can form a close relationship. After all (I feel like I'm saying that a lot today), we forge our closest relationships with those people with whom we have spent a lot of time.

PS- Brother Lawrence praised God by preparing meals and washing dishes because of his attitude about it. . . so I wasn't as trite as I thought I was the other night.

The book gave two good suggestions. One was to do short prayers throughout the day rather than trying to do one big long session at the beginning or end of the day, because doing that cuts down on distractions. The second was to develop and remember "breath prayers" that can be said in a quick breath, and then "rooted deep in your heart." I think I am going to start doing this.

The second suggestion to becoming best friends with God is to be in continual meditation. This means to have focused thinking on whatever; in this case, God's Word. The idea of replacing worry with meditation is so smart (since worry is just focused thinking about a problem). It's been a long time since I've gone out of my way to memorize any Bible verses (like, since early high school, if not middle school. . . probably being a student in AWANA is the last time), but I think I might start doing that again (even if I don't get badges and stickers for doing it :-p).

Finally, another smart comment: prayer is us talking with God, meditation is how God talks to us.

And now-

Point to Ponder: God wants to be my best friend.
I still can't really conceptualize this, because it just blows my mind. I mean, I don't think I've really heard anyone say it quite the way the book presents it. Just gives me a different way to look at things.

Verse to Remember: Psalm 25:14a- "Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him." Living Bible
I love Psalms. It's also a good reminder that we don't just get to abuse our friendship with Him, which is easy to do to someone who you can't see or feel directly.

Question to Consider: What can I do to remind myself to think about God and talk to him more often throughout the day?
Well, I think if I start some kind of memorization regiment, that will be really helpful. After all (there it is again! I'm so sorry), we memorize through repetition, and how can I not think about God when I'm trying to remember His Word? So I think it's a good plan overall.