Have a conversation about God's goodness
"Those who feared the Lord talked often one to another, and the Lord listened ..."
- Malachi 3:16 (AMP)
By Annettee Budzban
Daily Herald Correspondent
With all the social media sites and live or prerecorded talk shows, there's a lot of conversing going on. People love to have conversations regarding this and that. It appears to be our favorite way to pass the time.
Often, you hear me speak about having an intimate conversation with God. I'm referring to our personal prayer time with Him. During this time, we are pouring out our hearts to Him, either in gratitude or discussing the concerns of our hearts and listening for a response.
But there is one important conversation that's rarely mentioned - that's our conversation about God.
Ever since I was a young girl, I would secretly eavesdrop while my parents and other relatives sat around the dinner table and discussed some fact about God. As I grew into my teens and young adulthood, I found myself having some of these same kinds of conversations take place with my friends. Whenever we would have an unusual occurrence take place, we'd share it.
When I became an adult and started trying out different churches, I found one in particular that would have guest speakers give what is known as a testimony. A testimony is an account of how God changed or intervened in their lives. I found these personal stories fascinating as they unfolded the details of spiritual experience with God.
Some years later, I listened to programs aired on Christian radio, where each week someone also gave their personal story. Eventually, I started reading books and other publications that offered stories of changed lives. Over and over, I listened as others conversed about God's goodness in their lives.
Then one day, a friend was visiting, and we were conversing about our life's paths and the many things we noticed God had done along the way. When we finished sharing, she asked me if I was familiar with the Bible passage in Malachi that mentions God listens to our conversations about Him.
Over the years, my friends and I barely have a conversation without mentioning something God is doing in our lives. They are the everyday things such as car repairs that cost less than expected, or an item found on sale. Or even better, how some hard-to-get-along-with person in our lives apologized; or we came to understand our need to make an apology. These are just a few examples of conversations I believe God might find endearing.
It's fascinating to think God is listening when we speak positively about Him. I figure, for all the times I haven't, there's no better time than the present to strike up a conversation with a friend about God's goodness.
• Annettee Budzban is an author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She will be speaking Sept. 28 at the Women's Fall Gathering at Holy Cross church in Cary. Women interested in attending should email, Conventionchairman@wmlnid.org for more information. Annettee is available to speak to your church group, business, civic organization or be your personal life coach. She can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.