Effective Communication with God

 

Talking with God is two-way traffic.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Wednesday of 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, August 2nd, 2023
Texts: Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 98:5-7,9; Matthew 13:44-46

Today’s message is about the effective communication with God which transforms life. We see this in today’s first reading. We read, “Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” Why was the skin of Moses shone? It was because he had been talking with God. This means God and Moses had been talking to each other. Moses engaged God and God engaged Moses. Moses listened to God and God listened to him. Such communication is effectual and transforming. It makes us reflect God’s glory.  

We see in Moses a model of effective communication with God. We are to talk with God, not to talk to God. Talking to God is one-way traffic; we are the only one talking without listening to Him. That has been the way of life of some of us. We do not listen to God but we want Him to listen to us. We do not want to hear Him but we want Him to hear us. When we say God do this for me, we want Him to do it. However, when He asks us to do something, we disobey Him. It is a selfish and unjust way of life. Such way of life is not effectual and transforming.

 Talking with God is two-way traffic

We are to talk with God. Talking with God is two-way traffic. We talk to God and listen to Him. He also talks to us and listen to us. We speak to Him in prayer and He speaks to us in the Scripture. He hears us when we pray, we hear Him when we read His words or listen to His prophets. He listen to us when we pray, we listen to Him by keeping His words. Let us be just to God that He might be just to us. Hence, as we pray to Him always, let us hear and listen to Him always. It is this way of communication that can transform us like Moses was transformed.  

Today’s Psalmist says, “Among his priests were Aaron and Moses; among those who invoked his name was Samuel. They cried out to the Lord and he answered. To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud. They obeyed his decrees and the statutes which he had given them.” Aaron and Samuel also talked with God. 

To reflect the glory of God is to be like Him

The glory of God reflects upon us by talking with Him. If the glory of God is not reflected upon us, it means we have not been talking with God. Perhaps, we have only been talking to Him. The glory of God reflects upon us through life of holiness, righteous living and love. When our faces beam with love and holiness, we reflect the glory of God. The response to today’s Psalm says, “You are holy, O Lord our God.” To reflect the glory of God is to be like Him. 

The kingdom of heaven

Jesus Christ speaks of the kingdom of heaven as a treasure that is worth all we have. He says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  

Jesus also speaks of the kingdom as being destined for souls. The Kingdom of heaven is for us. Jesus speaks of this destination as search. He says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” We are the fine pearls; we are of great value that soul are worth the only-begotten Son of God. God so loved the world that He gave us His only-begotten Son (John 3:16). 

Prayer  

God our Father, we thank You for we are of great value before You;  may we always talk with You in love and truth, that Your glory may reflect upon us. Amen  

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke