Oh, talking. We looovveee talking. I mentioned yesterday that we crave attention, we want to be heard -- always. This is also particularly present in a love relationship. When you are on a date, you try to open up as much information about your self as possible. The more you  share information, the more the relationship gets deeper.

Unfortunately, though, in our love relationship with Jesus, this is almost always not present. "But I do pray -- during meals, before I sleep, and sometimes the rosary"

My wife once asked her friend during a discussion about her problem, "Do you pray?"

Friend said, "Yes I do."

"Do you pray as if you are talking with a friend?"

Silence, and then, "No. How do you do that?"

Apparently, our general view of prayer is an organized, repetitive and sometimes flowery set of words. I grew up in a very traditional church where prayers include words such as "thou", "thee", "thou art", "speaketh"... As if we were praying to impress God with our old English!  Most of you can also relate with the rosary. I once studied in a Roman Catholic school in high school. We were taught how to make and pray the rosary.  While I sincerely and honestly doesn't have anything against praying the rosary, I just think that there is a better way to pray than saying memorized, repetitive words.

Prayer is like a friendly talk with Jesus. You tell him your life's concerns, your dreams, your struggles, your heart aches. Prayer is not just about telling him what you want and what you need. It is also the time where you unload yourself to him. While others may suggest a format in your prayer, I would say, just start with a sincere talk with Jesus. Imagine him sitting beside you -- because he is! -- and start talking to him.

While the Bible is his way to talk to us, our prayer is the time when he listens to us. In your quiet time today, tell him about your successes and your failures. Ask for directions, unload your burdens to him. If Jesus indeed rose from the dead and is alive today, he is literally listening to your every word in prayer.

Listening, they say, is an art. It's almost always hard to listen. Our nature is to crave to be heard. In a relationship though, listening should be a major component. Need I explain more?

In a love relationship with Jesus, listening to what he wants to tell us on a daily basis is very important. We can hear his voice in a lot of ways:

Through a friend. Oh, yes, it happens a lot. You have a problem then suddenly, your friend drops a line and you thought it came from heaven.

Through a Sunday message. The priest or the pastor delivers a wonderful homily/sermon that strikes your heart in the middle.

Through life's circumstances. You've been running away from God. Then suddenly, you were fired at work or got sick or your broke up with your girlfriend. You have no one to turn to but God. God spoke through your life's circumstances.

While I believe that these things are actively being used by God to communicate with us, they are all subjective. How can you be sure, and I mean, really sure that your friend's advice is correct? Or your pastor didn't misinterpret the Bible as he delivered the message? Or whether your life's circumstances is a message from God and not something that you just occasionally mess up?

There is one voice that comes from God -- never subjective, always objective. The Bible. We Filipinos are aware of what the Bible is. But the question is, do we read it or do we just display it in the altar for some good luck?

I would like to suggest that reading the Bible is not only the most exciting way to listen to God as he speaks, it is also the most important component of our love relationship with Him. When we read the Bible, we get instructions from God himself. We'll know how to deal with relationships, how he loves us unconditionally, how to be blessed and bless others. It's like a Mercury Drug -- you can pick a particular medicine that corresponds to your life's disease.

Here's a challenge for you today. Yesterday, I asked you if you can spend at least 15 minutes of your time each day with God. If you have agreed and faced the challenge, I will encourage you to grab your Bible (If you don't have one yet, we can give you one when you visit Grace Place one of these Sundays, or you can grab one at the nearest National Bookstore. I suggest newer versions such as the New Living Translation). Download this 1-year Bible reading plan. If you follow this plan, you will be able to read the entire New Testament in one year. You only need 15 minutes a day to do this.

If you don't want to follow a schedule and just be free flowing, it's alright. I suggest starting with the gospel of John, then to the other gospels until you read the entire New Testament.

God wants to communicate with us. And we should listen. That's how we can grow in-love with Jesus even more.

I'm back from a holiday blogging haitus.

I don't normally start a year with a resolution. Instead, I set goals that I try to reach.

Here are my goals for 2008 that I thought I would share.

1. Learn 1 particular programming language. I'd like to try Java.

2. Be active in professional clubs. I'm a member of Philippine Internet Commerce Society (PICS) but have been inactive. Recent events in my professional life shows that there's power in partnerships within the industry where I belong. So I'm going to do just that.

3. Release one rockin' web application. Can't expose more details here, but it sure will rock.

4. Plan a really great weekend getaway with Joy for our 5th year anniversary. That's this July. Ganns gave me an idea. ;-)

5. Learn how to Communicate for a Change.

6. Release more blessings in writing through this blog -- it's.not.about.me.

7. Read the entire Bible in NLT

8. Be a better husband to Joy, a better father to Johann, a better leader to Grace Place and Team Sparrow, and a better follower of Jesus Christ.

Instead of a new year resolution (which isn't bad at all), how about reflecting on your special moment with God this year? Let's look back and see how God has been faithful with us in the past. This will give us courage and assurance of his faithfulness as we face the coming year.

What was/were your most special moment(s) with God this year?

Believe it or not, my most special moment with God this year happened in our comfort room. Yes, you read it right. Comfort room. During one of the lowest moments of my life this year, God spoke to me clearly (ok, not in an audible voice, you, charismatic you :D ). During that season of my life, I knew I need to have a stronger faith to trust God to face the biggest challenge yet, but I'm not trusting him. He spoke to me in such a way that I had to debate with him whether I really need to do what He wants me to do. I struggled, but in the end I obeyed. As a result, my faith grew a notch higher and I'm seeing his hands at work even more clearer now. All started in our comfort room -- in a quiet time with God.

What was/were your most special moment(s) with God this year?