Believe It or Not

Hello, God.

Hello, Nathanael.

In our previous conversation about listening prayer, we discussed a number of obstacles to hearing you that we might experience in listening prayer. That entry was especially frustrating to work on since I personally faced a number of those obstacles while writing it. As I was editing that last conversation, I realized there was another type of obstacle to listening prayer that we should probably discuss.

What obstacle would that be?

Beliefs.

What beliefs do you think are an obstacle to listening prayer?

I’m thinking there are beliefs that might stop a person from starting listening prayer.

Like?

We talked about a feeling of unworthiness in the last entry. But what about a belief about being worthy enough. Do I have to act or think a certain way to be worthy? For example, what if I am not "saved?" Do I or anyone else need to be “saved” to talk to you or hear your voice?

No, you do not need to be saved to talk to me or to imagine/hear my words to you.

There seems to be a lot of emphasis in certain denominations of Christianity about being saved…are you saying you don’t care if a person is saved?

Within the context of this site and listening prayer, whatever you believe your “saved” status is, I want to assure you that it will not hinder or stop me from conversing with you. Being saved is not a requirement that must be satisfied before we talk.

I see...is there anything that would keep you from talking to one of us. For example, do I have to be baptized?

No, you do not have to be baptized.

Confirmed?

No, you do not need to be confirmed.

Do I need to be a Christian or Muslim or a member of some other type of religion?

No, you do not need to be religious or of a certain type of religion to talk to me or hear me.

Interesting. And a little surprising. Let’s extend that thought to the extreme. Do I need to believe you exist for you to be willing to talk to me?

No, you don’t need to believe that I exist.

Really!?!

Really.

Don’t you find that…insulting? Why would you want to talk to someone who doesn’t think you exist?

I am not harmed by someone thinking I do not exist. How would I be harmed by such a thought? Nor am I afraid of losing you. Think of when a toddler is mad, when a toddler tells an adult: “You don’t exist! I’m not listening to you anymore!” What harm does that toddler do to the adult by ignoring them? I do not say this to make you think I think of any of you as toddlers. But once you consider the lack of harm a toddler can do to an adult by not speaking to them, that understanding might help explain why I am not upset or insulted when someone ignores me or misunderstands my existence.

I guess that makes sense. In that case, the adult would give the toddler space but might eventually be concerned for the child’s well-being depending on how well the child can hold a grudge. I can see why, then, you would not be insulted and would still want to engage with us. But, now I have a related question. Why would a person who believes in your non-existence consider praying to you and listening for your words?

To the individuals who are reading this and are unsure about my existence, I’d love to hear from you. So, I’ll say this: Why not try? What harm is there in trying? You don’t have to tell anyone about your attempt(s). And, if you consider yourself to be somewhat of a scientist, feel free to think of it as an experiment.

An experiment?

Remember, Nathanael, of those times before YouTube when you would learn of or hear about certain experiments that you didn’t think could possibly be true?

I remember.

What did you then do?

If I had access to the things to do my own experiment (which was rare), then I did my own experiment to see if I could recreate the outcome. One of the more enjoyable moments was putting Mentos candies into a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke. That was amazing!

Exactly! You tried something that seemed too good to be true and then you loved the result. And, your belief that the thing couldn’t possibly be true did not stop you from experiencing the actual result of exploding Diet Coke. So, why would experiencing me through listening prayer be any different?

I suspect listening prayer is different than a science experiment because you are not a scientific principle. Wouldn’t you only respond to the people who treat you well or like you?

No, that’s not who I am. Your question supposes that if a person is “nice” to me, they will gain my favor and therefore I will respond to them. Certainly, some people function this way. But I do not. You can’t buy my love or trade for it or bargain with it. Instead, my love is just there for you. Regardless of what you’ve done or not done, talk to me and then imagine a response from me. I’ll be there.

Those are good points. Maybe I’m just tempted to project my own reactions on to you. If someone didn’t believe in me and treated me like an experiment, I would not like that.

I respond because I love you. I love each and every one of you. And I want to be in contact with you. So, even if you are going to treat me like an experiment, I will respond.

Are you sure you love everyone!? I mean, aren’t there bad people out there?

I know what you mean when you say, “bad.” But I see it differently. There is so much fear and hurt in the world. Often, this fear and hurt is caused by how much chaos has been introduced into my creation**. Living in such hurtful, fearful, chaotic environments can create a (very extreme) hardness of heart for some people through the generations, even when those people didn’t experience all of the hardships and fear. It still gets passed on. Hardness of heart is the product of chaos, hurt, and fear.

But here’s the thing: Talking to me and listening to me can help undo that hardness. I’m not saying this will happen right away for a person and I want to be very clear that “undo” is different than “remove.” A gradual lessening might be a better way to think about it.

It really sounds like you’re saying that nothing will stop you from responding in listening prayer.

Well, there is one thing that will stop me.

Oh! What’s the one thing that will stop you?

You. You can stop me.

How can I do that?

By not wanting me to respond. By being afraid of me. By being resistant to me. For listening prayer to happen, I need to be invited and welcomed into the conversation. This is not because I need you to treat me well, but because I respect your autonomy and will.

This is an unexpected twist. When we started this conversation, I was worried about beliefs that might stop or block someone from participating in their own listening prayer project. But what I think you’re saying is that a conversation between you and a person can happen regardless of a person’s beliefs. A person can think you are the dumbest idea in the world and still have a fine conversation with you. However, that conversation can only happen, to use a more modern word, if the person gives consent for you to respond.

Exactly. I want to hear from you and I want you to hear my responses. But if you don’t want me to respond, then I won’t respond.

To review, then, we’re in agreement that you are wanting and willing to hear from me and talk to me even if I’m the most unrepentant, sinful, evil, vile person?

Yes.

Even if I’m the most insignificant, most ignored, least powerful person in the world?

Yes.

Even if I have lots of happiness, money, healthy relationships, and everything under control?

Yes.

Even if I believe you don't exist. And I believe all sorts of terrible things about you, you'll still talk to me?

Yes. It might be difficult for you to hear me through those beliefs, but I will still talk to you.

And there’s nothing I can do or not do to change your mind about any of those situations?

Correct.

But, if I decide that I do not want to hear from you, then you will respect that choice?

With great sadness, yes. Let’s briefly pretend that your life is like a house and you’ve shut the door in my face. In that analogy, know that I will not force my way in. But, also know this: I will not leave. The moment you open that door to invite me in for a discussion, I will be standing right there, ready to accept your invitation.

Let’s say I invite you in for a conversation, but I imagine/hear nothing. Does that mean I haven’t actually invited you? Does it mean you’ve rejected me?

No. It means a person is learning. Did you learn to ride a bike without falling?

I fell quite a lot, actually.

Did you fall because you were a terrible, evil person that gravity was punishing?

You know, I never thought about it that way, but maybe that’s exactly what happened!!!

No, Nathanael. That wasn’t what happened because that’s not how things work. Instead, you were learning how to do a new thing. It is not easy to do a new thing, especially if you’ve been resistant to learning that new thing in the past. Listening prayer works the same way.

Because this seems so counter-intuitive to me, I want to repeat this one more time. You're telling me that the only thing I need to do to converse with you is to make the time and space for the conversation and then do it. My belief system, my previous choices, my lack of religious actions – none of that really matters, right?

Right. Let’s talk. I love each and every one of you and I want to tell you that, personally. I want to hear about what you’re worried about. I want to problem-solve with you. I want to grieve with you. I want to rejoice with you. Let’s talk and don’t let anything convince you otherwise.

Okay…got it! I guess beliefs are not nearly as much of an obstacle to hearing you as I thought they were.

But it was good of you to ask about it. Thank you for following up about that, Nathanael.

You’re welcome, God, and thank you.