The Second is to talk. It’s time to be bold and honest. This is where we become vulnerable and talk to God. Tell Him the good, the bad, and the ugly. Tell God your dreams, your thoughts, and even what you think is best for you. Expressing your thoughts to God directly is just the tip of the iceberg. We have to do it all the time, not just in prayer.
What does that mean for us? Talk means to speak to give information or express ideas or feelings; converse or communicate by spoken words.
That means doing it in the morning when you wake up. When you’re eating breakfast and when you’re drinking coffee. Talk when you’re cleaning up and when you’re driving to work. Say something when you’re stuck in traffic, when you’re on the job, and when you’re on your way back home. Talk to God when you see your family or when you’re playing a game. These are the times when the conversation is necessary in order for you to fully talk to God. We do this on the phone with family and friends, no matter what time it is, where we are, or what we’re doing. We can talk to them while we’re busy and we can talk to them while we’re resting. These are the same times that we should open up and have a conversation with God.
Think about it: Talking to God, not a friend, in the same manner about what is going on in our life. It doesn’t make sense to exclusively save it for prayer; instead, I suggest that we use it in our everyday lives. When you are looking for advice or feeling lost, talk to Him. It’s as simple as that. Express your ideas, your thoughts, and your feelings. Make it known by talking.
Talk to God in your native tongue the same way you talk with others. Let’s make sure we are saying exactly what we want! When a baby cries, the parents have to figure out what could be the issue. Is the baby hungry? Are they tired? Is the baby upset at the socks on its feet? Here is where you cannot only cry but be bold in your concerns and honest with your heart to God. If you ask your boss for a day off, you aren’t speaking in tongues, your voice is clear and bold. You are speaking with a bold and firm native tongue, one you can guarantee they will hear. That is how you should always talk to God. Be bold and confident, with absolute humbleness. Yelling, shouting, and screaming are not useful when trying to express or explain your wants and needs. That is chaotic noises from the master of confusion.
Think of Gideon, who was initially filled with doubt and fear when the angel of the Lord appeared to him. In Judges 6:11-24 (AMP), Gideon engages in a direct and honest conversation with God, which is exactly how we should talk to God. Despite his uncertainties, he speaks openly about his concerns and seeks confirmation of God’s will:
11 Now the [a]Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the wine press [instead of the threshing floor] to [hide it and] save it from the Midianites.
12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O brave man.”
13 But Gideon said to him, “Please my lord, if the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wondrous works which our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
15 But Gideon said to Him, “Please Lord, how am I to rescue Israel? Behold, my family is the least [significant] in Manasseh, and I am the youngest (smallest) in my father’s house.”
16 The Lord answered him, “I will certainly be with you, and you will strike down the Midianites as [if they were only] one man.”
17 Gideon replied to Him, “If I have found any favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speaks with me.
18 Please do not depart from here until I come back to You, and bring my offering and place it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you return.”
19 Then Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket and the broth in a pot, and he brought the food to Him under the oak (terebinth) and presented it.
20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth [over them].” And he did so.
21 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon realized [without any doubt] that He was the Angel of the Lord, he declared, “[b]Oh no, Lord God! For now I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face [and I am doomed]!”
23 The Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not be afraid; you shall not die.”
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it The Lord is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah, of the Abiezrites.
This passage shows that even in our doubt and fear, we should communicate openly with God. Gideon’s honest conversation led to him receiving reassurance and guidance from God, which strengthened his faith and prepared him for his mission.
When we openly talk to God, we build a deeper, more authentic relationship. Just as Gideon did not hold back in his dialogue with God, we too should bring ourselves into conversation with Him, assuring that our relationship with God is real and strong.
Follow along to the next step: The Relationship.