Just Keep Talking

John 4:7 – 10 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, Will you give me a drink? (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Have you ever felt hot and tired and thirsty? Jesus did. He had left Judea to get away from all the hubbub. He just wanted a little peace and quiet. He wanted some water. Yet here, we see him putting his own needs aside in order to meet another person’s needs.

The simple act of asking, “Will you give me a drink?” speaks volumes. Most Jews would have ignored this Samaritan woman, or treated her like she had the plague. But Jesus treated her like she was a fellow Jew – his equal. By asking her to pour him some water, he was telling her he accepted her. There was no prejudice in Him.

She was taken aback. “Why are you asking me for a drink?” she asked. “Everyone knows the Jews hate the Samaritans.”

Jesus didn’t exactly answer her question. You see, she wasn’t asking the right question. She should have been asking Him to quench her spiritual thirst. But she didn’t know enough to even ask. So He gently led the conversation around to spiritual things.

Do you ever feel like you don’t know enough to even ask God the right questions? Do you ever feel like you need to pray, but you don’t know the words to say?

That’s okay. Just keep asking the wrong questions. Just keep saying the wrong things. God will not hold against you what you don’t know.

The Samaritan woman could have ignored Jesus. That would have been the wrong thing to do. She could have turned her back on Him and walked away. That would have been wrong, too. But instead, she kept the lines of communication open. She talked to Him. She asked the wrong questions, but He led her to the right ones. And He will do the same thing for us.

All we have to do is keep talking, keep asking, keep seeking. Remember, it is God’s greatest desire that we know Him, and understand Him, and have an intimate relationship with Him. If we show even the slightest interest in knowing Him, He will bend over backwards to help us know Him better.

Just keep talking.

Dear Father, When I am confused or tired or hurting, help me to keep talking to You. Help me to understand You.

Amen

My dear friends,

Thank you so much for all your encouragement and prayers about my dad. We are trusting God to take care of this. Though I didn’t respond to each comment, please know that each and every single one meant the world to me. Thank you.

Yesterday, we received the news about Dad. Today, we had some more devastating news, which I will post about later in the week. Please keep our family in your prayers.

God is good, all the time. Even in times like these.

I love you and thank God for each one of you.

–r

3 Responses to Just Keep Talking

  1. September 18, 2008 #

    Renae,
    Yes, we must keep talking.
    And crying.
    And asking.
    He already knows our every feeling…our every question.
    He wants us to be real with Him.
    I am praying and have asked key prayer warriors in my life to pray.
    I am also staying in the background, waiting for your cues.
    You know where I am…call or write anytime if you need me.
    In great love,
    Judi

  2. September 18, 2008 #

    Dear Renae,
    My Mom, she also has a lot of whys and hows to ask the Lord.
    I tried to tell her we don’t get the answers now, we’ll be getting them when we come home.
    “But” , my Mom exclaimed,”I will not be needing answers then, I need them now.”
    Keep on talking..
    I guess we ended up in this;
    Job 19: 25 “For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    And He shall stand at last on the earth;”
    When I hear this stansa sung in Handel’s Messiah, the tears always come flowing without me knowing or wanting it.
    The testimony is so strong and so definite, beyond explanations.
    I am who I am.
    He’s there. There is no other answer.
    For me, my Mom and for you.
    From Felisol

  3. September 19, 2008 #

    I greatly enjoyed this post. It can mean so much to so many- and in so many ways. Thank you

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.