MY CHATS WITH GOD. AUGUST 2026
My chats with God seem to come under specific headings. Riling, Sharing, Acknowledging, Answers and Timing. Though not necessarily in that order. Although riling, or it could just be called ranting at, can be a favourite at certain times! Especially if I have difficulty with the latter subject matter! However, I do find that chatting with God, by that I mean a two way conversation that involves speaking and listening, is an essential, nay vital, part of my daily existence.
While I am always eager to share with God my views on the subjects that arouse my ire, I am not always eager to learn his response to my complaints about his lack of suitable action n. Possibly because they might involve the spotlight turning onto me and my actions. They may reveal something that I would prefer to be buried and forgotten or remain buried and forgotten. If any of this sounds the least bit familiar, take heed of what comes next. My typical rant sounded just like this one day.
“Lord, why did you bring me to this forsaken town? There isn’t anywhere for me to go or anything for me to do here with an eight week old baby? I’m lonely and fed up with feeling left out of life!”
When I didn’t get an instant answer, I did the next best thing and made my complaint in my new minister’s ear when he came visiting his new parishioner (at the invitation of his old theological college room-mate). His reply was, and I quote, was “Well why don’t you do something about it?”
That led to the setting up of a Mother and Toddler Group on the church premises to encourage other young mothers to meet up and learn to socialise with their small children on a regular basis and make new friends. Which, I am happy to say is still going strong over fifty years later. My advice, be careful what you wish for, God is always listening and looking for volunteers to press into service. He had answered me, just not in the way I had expected!
This leads me nicely into listening. Every good conversation involves both participants giving and taking. Which means attentive listening as well as saying your particular piece. Listening is a skill like any other. It can be learnt but it pays to have a good teacher or an excellent example to follow. This was a hard lesson for me to learn and I am still seeking to improve my ability in this field.
Skills always need a lot of practise if you want to become adept in them. I have found no better teacher or example than my father. Father God. My own birth father having died when I was twenty one, I found myself in need of guidance and I was fortunate that the person who was listening to my woes knew just where to find me some expert help.
God not only listens when I pray but also knows the best ways in which to help me to be a better listener too. Listening is not only hearing what the other person is saying but also what they are not saying. The silences can prove as informative as the words spoken. They cry out for your attention to focus on the less obvious and to try to find the wholeness in the situation being discussed.
Answers. The one thing we all can agree on. We want answers to our questions. The trouble is we don’t always like the ones we get. Or, we get fed up waiting for our questions to be answered and take matters into our own hands. Or, we just don’t believe that we were ever heard.
From my own experience, I can assure you that God always hears when you speak to him. He is always listening out for you to speak. Much like a mother will take the time to let a small child find the words in their vocabulary to enable them to spit out what troubles them, so God waits endlessly patiently for us to get to the point of talking to him about what concerns us. It doesn’t matter whether it is as big as who I should marry or as small as where can I find a parking space when I need one. He is there waiting to deal with whatever, whenever and however we get round to bringing it to his attention. A fact that I have done more than my fair share of proving in my lifetime.
My one outstanding chat favourite is about, timing. Timing. My final topic to share with you, my reader. Timing, as is often said, is everything!
There is right timing,. When everything just couldn’t go better. You are in the right place at the right time.
There is also wrong timing. When everything just falls apart disastrously. Now matter what you say or do, nothing goes right for you.
Then there is God’s timing. When everything seems to just fall into place absolutely perfectly. Both from the short term and long term points of view. Foresight and hindsight satisfied all in one go. Perfection. Only God could and did make it happen. Man couldn’t even think that far out of the box, let alone put it into play so quickly and well. However, we always feel sure that had it been done our way in the first place, it would have been a very different story. Of course it would have been a very different story! For without all the information about a situation Man cannot accurately predict what will happen in any given situation. Our weather forecasting are daily examples that should make that completely obvious.
Only God knows the beginning and the end of everything. Therefore only he knows the right timing for our perfect answers. Sometimes he has to answer us with a no, the timing is not right. Sometimes it is yes but not in the timing we think it should happen, otherwise it might do us more harm than good. Sometimes it is wait and see. Only he knows which answer is the right one and the timing it needs to enable perfection. Perfection, being the right outcome for all involved. Not just for you and from your perspective. All too often it has taken the kindly perspective of hindsight to enable me to realise that God was always working my issues out to answer my questions and prayers.
To conclude my chats with God nowadays, I find myself increasingly frequently deciding to leave everything, big or small in His capable hands. This reliance may seem strange when I have written about getting angry with God about wanting things done the way I want them done. Not just petulantly like a small child stamping their feet in a tantrum. But, with tears and pleadings, when the life of a loved one seems beyond hope of saving as veins collapse and strength fails. Or when praying daily for some positive news of a much loved friend when he had disappeared on a safari holiday in Africa over a year earlier. Or when desperate to say a final goodbye when a parking space is not available in the car park of the hospital and time is running out. Each and every time God is there a quick chat away. Ready to listen and bring light into the situation that has brought the darkness close or I am feeling unable to cope with one more demand, no matter how small, on my strength. That is where the acknowledging comes into play.
When I acknowledge who He is, what He is and most importantly what He is to me personally. My God, my King, my Saviour and my Friend, my ever present help in any situation, the provider of my needs and my blessings. The grace that has covered me from before my birth and will do so forever. Then, he has his rightful place and I find myself in mine. Loved and blessed until my socks fall off.