I thought this picture was kind of funny…

It is an advertisement put out by some Christian organization to encourage people to think about their eternal destiny rather than put it off until tomorrow. Yet the designers of the advertisement messed up a bit, and put the texts of Jesus on the wrong side.

If you have a cell phone which shows those bubble texts, you know that your texts are on the right in the green bubbles, and the texts you receive are on the left with the grey bubbles and the name of the person sending the text is at the top of the screen.

But in this picture, the designers of the advertisement reversed the bubbles so that it looks like Jesus is saying He is too busy to talk…

It’s a simple oversight, but still a little funny. Nevertheless, it kind of reminds me of a time I watched a video about how to study the Bible, and the creators of the video were talking about how important it was to use Greek and Hebrew in your study of Scripture. The video showed images of Greek and Hebrew text, and ironically, the Hebrew text was upside down! It obviously showed that despite the teacher’s claim that he used Hebrew in his study of Scripture, he didn’t even know which way was “up” when it came to Hebrew.

Does this mean that everything we do as Christians needs to be perfect? Of course not. Nearly every post I write on this blog has typos. (If you ever see one, please let me know about it in the comments or send me a note with that “Ask a Bible or Theology Question” section on the sidebar.)

But anyway, back to the subject of the image…

Is Jesus too Busy?

Most of us probably feel at times that Jesus seems too busy to talk to us. But the exact opposite is true. Due to the fact of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that God is everywhere all the time, God is able to treat each of us as if we were the only person in the world, the only one He needs to listen to, the only one He needs to care for.

God is never too busy or too distracted to listen to you. He is always with you, and always interested in what you are doing, thinking, and feeling. So talk with Him! When you rise up and when you lie down, when you eat your meals and when you drive to work, when you work out and when you watch a movie, remember that God is present with you, and loves to be part of your every conversation.

Praying to the Unbusy God

I think one of the great disservices of the church is how we teach children to pray with their heads bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded. I know why we do this — to help avoid distractions when praying — but it gives the impression that this is the only way we can pray. 

But prayer should be similar to talking to a friend who is standing right next to you. When talking to a friend, do you close your eyes, bow your head, and fold your hands so that you can focus 100% on what you are saying and what they tell you in return? No, probably not. If the conversation is serious, you might turn to face them and drop what you are doing, but for normal, average, everyday stuff, you can have a good conversation with someone while you are doing your work, watching TV, going for a walk, driving your car, or eating a meal. 

So also with prayer. If you can imagine God by your side all day every day, then you can also begin to hold conversations with Him in your head as you go about your day, just as you do with any other friend or family member. 

This is the way I have been trying to pray for the last 10 years or so, and find it extremely helpful. It has gotten so that I sometimes find that it is hard to differentiate between prayer and my actual thoughts.

Rather than thinking, “I need to remember to stop by the store today after work,” I think, “Lord, help me to remember to stop by the store today after work.” 

Rather than thinking, “What am I going to do about this bill I can’t pay?” I think, “Lord, what am I going to do about this bill I can’t pay?”

Rather than thinking, “What is wrong with my daughter’s throat and this pain she is experiencing? Should I take her to the doctor? Should I wait some more? Should I give her ibuprofen?” I think, “Lord, what is wrong with my daughter’s throat and this pain she is experiencing? Should I take her to the doctor? Should I wait some more? Should I give her ibuprofen?” 

You see how this works? 

I am not saying this is the way you have to pray. It is just something that has worked for me over the years. I think there are thousands of ways of praying, and each person prays a little bit differently. The key is to find a way that is natural, normal, and helps you develop your relationship with God, and talk with Him regarding the things that concern and interest you. 

How do you pray? If you feel like sharing, leave a comment below.