Can you imagine really caring about someone--your spouse, your best friend, your child--and never talking with him or her? Of course not. Love is built on communication, and so are all of the most important relationships we are blessed with.

So if Jesus wants to be both Husband and best Friend to us, as the Bible says (Isaiah 54:5 and Romans 7:4), and if God is our heavenly Father, then isn't it only logical that They would want to talk to us?

If Christianity were merely a philosophy or code of ethics or even a religion, those might simply be clever analogies--husband, friend, father--to try to explain our relationship to God and Jesus in a philosophical sort of way. But true Christianity is far more than any of those, thank God! It's more than rationale and rules, rhetoric and ritual, morals and ethics; it's a living, loving personal relationship--a relationship that grows richer and deeper and stronger through honest, open communication with our Creator.

The means of communication that God has provided is prayer, which means not only talking to God, but listening to Him too. He wants us to tell Him our needs and desires, our problems and fears, our innermost thoughts and our secret dreams. And it works both ways. He also wants to answer our questions, help solve our problems, encourage us when we feel down, and share our victories and joys. Most of all, He wants to help us understand and experience His love in a very real and personal way.

If you haven't yet discovered how to hear directly from God, to receive His personalized messages of love, encouragement, instruction, guidance and more, this issue of Activated explains how.

Keith Phillips
For the Activated family