Later in the evening when we had finished the resume, I asked him how I could be praying for him and I asked if he’d be praying lately (knowing that for a while he has mostly stopped). He replied by saying he only called out to God when he really needed him, saying “I guess I kinda seek Allah like I seek you man; only when I have a problem…”
While I understood this thought on god, I also thought it very incomplete and so I replied. “Brother, I think you’re stuck on a basic understanding of God. I have a baby and he sees his mom and me as gods. He cries when he needs something like you when you pray. But, I also have my 4 year old, and she doesn’t need us like our baby does. She still needs us, but instead of just crying for us she chooses to be with us; she loves being with us. She rejoices with us, she gets angry at us, she dwells with us and even dances with us. She asks us questions and pours words of love on us all of the time. She still needs us but in a different way. …and God, God is so much more than parents. God isn’t just a cry of desperation, He’s a loyal friend; He’s a God that desires intimacy with us and wants to be part of your life. Kind of like how I want to be part of my daughter’s life and she wants to be a part of mine.”
My friend had never thought about God in this way before and all he had to say after I spoke was, “this sounds really nice”… But I know that friend isn’t content with the god that he’s following, and I’m praying that soon he realizes how much more there truly is to God. Pray for my friend to come to know God deeply and embrace His grace and love through Jesus.
– G.B. in NYC
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