“See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
1 John 3:1 (NRSV)
In the Barnsley circuit we are spending time looking at making connections. This week we are considering how we can make better connections with God. We hear from the Bible over and over how much we mean to God, how desperately God wants to know us. From walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, to dwelling among us as Christ, to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit – God has shown time and again how much God would like to make a connection with us.
The best way to develop a relationship with anyone is to spend time with them, to get to know them. We all know how we can do this with God: we can talk to God in prayer, learn more about God by reading the Bible and spending time with others who know God. In worship we can also develop our relationship with God, sharing ourselves openly and honestly, as well as listening to what God has to say to us in return.
Many hymns speak of building our relationship with God. ‘O God you search me and you know me’ (Singing the Faith 728, by Bernadette Farrell, is a beautiful rewording of Psalm 139, reminding us how well God knows us. ‘Come with me, come wander’ (Singing the Faith, 462), by John Bell, speaks of spending time with God to learn more about him.
God who searches us and knows us,
We thank you for loving us, no matter who we are
For being with us every day, even when we feel alone
Thank you that you know everything about us,
That we can be completely honest with you
Help us to know you better
Share conversation with us in prayer
Guide us to learn more of you through reading the Bible
and through walking through the world with you
God our friend and saviour
Be with us every day
Amen
You can download this Prayer for the Week here
Prayers for February 2019 by Revd Claire Rawlinson
Image: photo by KEEM IBARRA on Unsplash
