We Need to Talk … God

The other day, I noticed a large billboard at the side of the road which simply said, “We need to talk … God”. It was a simple reminder to busy shoppers and motorists rushing by, and the business fraternity alike, that God was urging them to come and commune with Him.

To me, there’s an urgency in the words, a seriousness. He isn’t saying, “Let’s have a coffee”. It’s a call from a loving, merciful, but just God, trying to get man’s attention.

We live in an age where men are preoccupied with gaining wealth, power and status in society. God, on the other hand, is looking for those who will bow their knee in repentance and admit their need of Him, and ‘make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Him in the land’ (Ezekiel 22:30).

The prayer of righteousness will keep our families and the nation from disaster. When the Church stops praying, there is trouble in the land. Great men like Abraham and Moses interceded in their generation, but now it’s our turn.

Has the busyness of life encroached upon our prayer life? Are there gaps in our personal hedge of protection that need mending? Hedges define borders between what rightfully belongs to us and what does not. But if hedges are not maintained, the gaps become an invitation to animals and scoundrels alike to invade and plunder. The enemy will not be slow to take advantage, as can be seen in the society in which we live.

The Lord is mercifully reminding us of the importance of prayer in obedience to His word. ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much’ (James 5:16). In today’s verse, God is promising that, if His people pray to Him in humility, He will not only hear, He will forgive their sin and heal their land, both personal and national.

Life is not only short, it’s fleeting. One moment’s prayer can make the difference between life and death to those in our families and in society who are hovering in the grey area of indecision. It is time for men and women of faith to stand forth, as Esther did in her generation, for who knows whether we have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for Your great mercy extended to me day after day. I repent of all the times in my life when I have allowed other things to interfere with my prayer life. Help me, Lord, to be diligent in intercession, so that truth and righteousness may prevail, in accordance with Thy word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.