I was praying yesterday when this thought crossed my mind: Praying (just like any other faith practice) needs to be relational. While I understood the truth of this statement, it dawned on me how much we do things out of practice, duty, and discipline.
Think about it. What if we approached reading the Bible from the standpoint of allowing the Lord to speak to us rather than just seeking to back up what we already believe? I believe God is more interested in our ability to be teachable than our ability to be indoctrinated. I understand how difficult it will be for many people to accept this statement but this has been my heart for some time. In the end, I have learned much more about the Word and the Lord when I stopped trying to enforce my doctrinal stances and simply started asking God to speak to me through the Bible.
Prayer, Bible reading, Worship, Giving, Etc...all of it needs to be tied to my relationship with the Lord.
Relational Prayer sounds more like conversation than a laundry list.
Relational Bible Reading opens up a dialogue from the Lord to us rather than approaching the Bible like a textbook.
Relational Giving allows the Lord to dictate how we give of our resources than simply asking Him to bless our 10%.
Relational Worship will bring us into an encounter with the Lord rather than going through the motions.
And the list goes on an on.
Adam & Eve were tempted in this very area. They had an open relationship with the Lord. He spoke with them, would fellowship with them, and walked with them in the cool of the day. The temptation came in such a way that caused Eve to think this was not enough. She chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, gave the fruit to Adam as well, which ultimately led to the fall of man. Locked in this relationship with God based on right/wrong, good/evil, law/liberty - it was difficult to embrace true and genuine relationship. Christ came into the world to right the wrongs, allow good to triumph over evil, and fulfill the law to set us at liberty. Now it is our opportunity to go further in our relationship with the Lord. But we will have to fight the idea that knowledge is greater than relationship. We will have to fight the temptation to turn our relationship into a religion.
Can I be real with you? Discipline is good when passion is missing. However, if our passion for the Lord is overrun by discipline then all we have is a working relationship with God. There are plenty of people in this position. From the members that enter into the congregation to those who stand on the stage. We have developed a sort of professional intimacy. And the last time I checked, we had a name for those who specialized in this type of "intimacy."
The only way that we can guard ourselves from these trappings is to guard our hearts. We must guard ourselves against a "form of godliness that denies the power" of God at work in our lives. Sure...you can read the Bible, pray, worship, etc. out of a form of godliness but what does it accomplish? A form of godliness will only accomplish a form of Christianity. True and genuine faith is always (ALWAYS) about relationship.
It is my prayer for every person that claims faith in Jesus Christ that they never fall short of a genuine, intimate, relationship with Him. It is my hope that the church will reclaim the passion of what it means to know the Risen Savior. That we will be willing to give everything to Him because He gave everything to us. That we will never allow religion to override the relationship. That we will know what it means to be the sons/daughters of the Most High God. May we never embrace form over power. May we never be indoctrinated with the philosophies of man but with the true nature of God. May we never allow our worship of God to be in vain. Let's return to a Relational faith that embraces the journey of being conformed to the image of the Son.
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