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Have you ever heard people complain, “I just can’t seem to hear God when I pray,” or “I’m not sure God speaks to me…or anyone for that matter”? That’s a terrible problem for a Christian to have.
Maybe the solution to their dilemma can be found by understanding how a kid’s radio-controlled car works.
At some point or another, we’ve all played with radio-controlled cars (RC cars). They’re a ton of fun! They’re basically a child’s toy car that’s wirelessly powered by handheld remote control. Sure, they take like 84 batteries to run the things, but they’re a blast! You can set up ramps and jump them. You can crash them into things. You can chase your younger siblings with them.
One’s demented mind is the only cap on the fun that can be had.
But there’s one slight drawback. The signal range on them is somewhat limited. Granted, the more money spent, the greater the range, but all of them have some sort of limit on how far the signal travels.
When the car is out of range of the controller, it ceases to operate correctly. The car doesn’t receive the signal because it’s too far from the controller. When that happens, the car stops, or crashes into things because the operator can’t see it, or risks getting broken because it’s stopped in a dangerous place like the middle of a street.
That’s kinda how our relationship with God is. The closer we are to Him, the more clearly we hear Him. The more clearly we hear Him, the easier it is to understand His will. The easier it is to understand His will, the better chance we have of accomplishing it.
Now, God isn’t limited in his “signal sending” ability, like the radio controller, but a similar principle still applies: the farther we are from our Controller – because of sin, faithlessness, self-righteousness, etc – the harder it is for us to hear Him. When it’s hard to hear God, it’s more difficult to understand His will for our lives. And when we don’t truly understand His will, we usually struggle in accomplishing it.
Those who are living far from God (for whatever reason) should heed the counsel James offers:
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8)
The solution to the problem is simple: just go nearer to God.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Discipleship
God’s Will
Obedience
Prayer
Problem
Relationship
Sin
Toys
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
