Communication with God is our most helpful resource in facing the issues of life. No human privilege is more valuable than the opportunity for intimate contact with our heavenly Father. It is an awesome thought to realize we are created with a capacity for divine conversation. Yet, we often neglect this holy encounter with our loving Creator. Why would we choose to ignore His loving invitation to have such fellowship?

Perhaps it is out of fear and guilt that we are reluctant to converse with God. We are so intimidated by His greatness that we cannot imagine Him wanting fellowship with the likes of us. Our guilt has caused us to create a false sense of distance when in reality He invites our repentance and faithful confession. He longs to hear our voices express sorrow for our sins. Even though we may rightly fear the consequences of iniquity, we have nothing to fear in being honest with God. He is our genuine ally in the struggle for righteousness.

Again, it may be a misunderstanding of the secular aspects of life that causes us to neglect our time with God. Our tendency is to divide life into the sacred and the secular. We falsely assume that God is not interested in our daily routine and thus we do not talk to Him about it. The Bible leads us to believe that God is as interested in how we earn our bread as the fact we give thanks for it. Only that which defames the nature and purpose of God is a sacrilege. Everything else is a sacred trust. Secular and sacred are opposite sides of the same coin which we use to render unto Caesar as well as unto God. Therefore, our daily walk can be a daily talk with God who wants to walk beside us in every venture of life.

Furthermore, we sometimes allow religion to rob us of time with God. Talking about God all day is no adequate substitute for talking with God for a few minutes. Reading and studying about God is of little value if it does not lead us into the presence of God. A worship service has little meaning if worship does not really occur. The end result of true religion is not having all the answers, but in having an all-embracing fellowship with God. Answers lead to argument. Fellowship leads to love and God is love.

Perhaps our greatest reason for neglecting time with God is spiritual laziness. It takes a lot of effort to maintain friendly relationships with anyone. It takes no less effort with God. If we are careless and undisciplined about our time, God will often be left out. Time is the precious ingredient of life. If it lacks spirituality, we lose contact with God. Let us make sure to say our prayers because the Unseen requires as much time as the physically visible.