#7 Moments of Hope with Pastor Jerry Rice

Communication is part of everyday life. We speak to people one-on-one. We send emails. We send text messages. We make calls. We send postcards.
I went to Aldi yesterday with my son-in-law Josiah who is both an American and Bulgarian citizen. As we were checking out, Josiah told the cash register that he recognized her accent. She said, “My husband and I are from Bulgaria.” Josiah immediately began speaking to her in Bulgarian, and her face brightened up with excitement as she had the unexpected opportunity to converse with another human being in her native tongue.
How would it feel if you could not communicate with those around you? Muaharrem, a deaf man in Istanbul, could not communicate with many people because only a few people knew his language. One day, however, his life drastically changed. Samsung had provided those in his neighborhood the opportunity to learn sign language as part of the company’s promotion for an upcoming call center for the deaf. As Muaharrem’s sister began leading him through the streets, his neighbors began to speak to him by signing. He must have been so overjoyed that his neighbors took the time to learn how to communicate with him.
Jesus taught us to communicate with God in the Lord’s Prayer, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13, KJV)
God wants us to communicate with others, and God wants us to communicate with him. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Communicate with God today and every day.