I just came to talk...

[Sam]

How often do we spend time praying and worshiping God when we have no special need?
Are we guilty of only talking to the Lord when we are in a bind or when we are in trouble or when we come to Him with a list of requests?
Or do we actually spend some time just hanging out with the Lord and talking with Him?

I’ve been thinking about that lately and two things came to my mind today.

[Sam]

The first thing that comes to mind is a song.
Some years back Dottie Rambo had a song titled, “I Just Came to Talk With You, Lord”
These are the words:

I didn't come here to ask You for anything
I just came to talk with you Lord
You've answered a million prayers or more
That I forgot to thank You for
I just came to talk with You Lord

Maybe tomorrow there'll be trouble and sorrow
And a thousand teardrops may fall
But until I face tomorrow’s task
I have no special favor to ask
I just came to talk with you Lord

How many times Lord
Have troubles brought me down to my knees
Oh but this time I just came to talk with you Lord
You see I really have no selfish motive in mind
I just came to thank you Lord for all the other times

Maybe tomorrow there'll be troubles and sorrow
And a thousand teardrops may fall
But until I face tomorrow’s task
I have no special favor to ask
I just came to talk with you Lord
I just came to talk with you Lord

You can see her singing this shortly before her death at a Gaither gathering at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK6guThLXms

[Sam]

The second thing that came to mind was something I remembered from a few years ago.

It was written by Francis Frangipane where he mentioned getting so busy with the work of God that he let his personal time with the Lord slip.
The Lord acctually spoke to someone to give Francis a word from the Lord to let him know that God missed him and those special times they used to have together.
A former pastor of mine, Joe David Sizemore, used to say something like, “We can get so busy doing church work that we forget the work of the church.”

This is from an article titled,”Tired of a Tired Pastor” by Francis Frangipane.

"In the early 1970s, during the beginning of my ministry, the Lord called me to consecrate to Him the time from dawn until noon. I spent these hours in prayer, worship and the study of His Word. I would often worship God for hours, writing songs of Him that came from this wonderful sanctuary of love. The presence of the Lord was my delight, and I know my time with Him was not only well-spent, but well-pleasing to us both.

"However, as my life began to bear the fruit of Christ's influence, the Holy Spirit would bring people to me for ministry. In time, as more people would come, I found myself cutting off forty-five minutes from the end of my devotional time. On occasion, ministry to people would extend into the night, and I stopped rising as early as I had.

"Church growth problems began to eat at the quality of my remaining time; ministerial expansion, training younger ministries and more counseling crowded the already limited time I had left. Of course, these changes did not happen overnight, but the months and years of increasing success were steadily eroding my devotional life. In time I found myself in a growing ministry but with a shrinking anointing to sustain it.

"One day an intercessor called who prayed regularly for me. He told me that during the night the Lord had spoken to him in a dream concerning me. I was eager to hear what the Lord had revealed to my friend, thinking perhaps He was going to increase our outreach or maybe supply some needed finances. I asked him to tell me the dream.

"What the Lord said had nothing directly to do with the projects and the priorities that were consuming my time. He simply said, 'Tell Francis I miss Him.'"

He went on to say that he had become so tired and so dry from doing the Lord's work, that he needed to get back to reading the Word more, praying more and worshiping the Lord more.

[Sister Alvear]

My lovely Lord...I love to talk to him because I can tell him so many things I don't feel confortable telling others...He keeps our secrets...I always tell Him good morning too the first thing and good night...but of course we have our little chats and I often cry on his shoulder.
I love Him above all else...

Thank you for remonding us how valueable time is spent with Him.

[*AQuietPlace*]

Love that song!

[MawMaw]

Great thoughts Sam. I do talk to the Lord off an on during the day. I tell him how much I love him many times in a day as well as thank Him for His love and mercies.

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by Sam

The second thing that came to mind was something I remembered from a few years ago.

It was written by Francis Frangipane where he mentioned getting so busy with the work of God that he let his personal time with the Lord slip.
The Lord acctually spoke to someone to give Francis a word from the Lord to let him know that God missed him and those special times they used to have together.
A former pastor of mine, Joe David Sizemore, used to say something like, “We can get so busy doing church work that we forget the work of the church.”

This is from an article titled,”Tired of a Tired Pastor” by Francis Frangipane.

"In the early 1970s, during the beginning of my ministry, the Lord called me to consecrate to Him the time from dawn until noon. I spent these hours in prayer, worship and the study of His Word. I would often worship God for hours, writing songs of Him that came from this wonderful sanctuary of love. The presence of the Lord was my delight, and I know my time with Him was not only well-spent, but well-pleasing to us both.

"However, as my life began to bear the fruit of Christ's influence, the Holy Spirit would bring people to me for ministry. In time, as more people would come, I found myself cutting off forty-five minutes from the end of my devotional time. On occasion, ministry to people would extend into the night, and I stopped rising as early as I had.

"Church growth problems began to eat at the quality of my remaining time; ministerial expansion, training younger ministries and more counseling crowded the already limited time I had left. Of course, these changes did not happen overnight, but the months and years of increasing success were steadily eroding my devotional life. In time I found myself in a growing ministry but with a shrinking anointing to sustain it.

"One day an intercessor called who prayed regularly for me. He told me that during the night the Lord had spoken to him in a dream concerning me. I was eager to hear what the Lord had revealed to my friend, thinking perhaps He was going to increase our outreach or maybe supply some needed finances. I asked him to tell me the dream.

"What the Lord said had nothing directly to do with the projects and the priorities that were consuming my time. He simply said, 'Tell Francis I miss Him.'"

He went on to say that he had become so tired and so dry from doing the Lord's work, that he needed to get back to reading the Word more, praying more and worshiping the Lord more.

Sam, this confession reminds me of a book I finished recently called, Take Your Glory, Lord. It's about a South African Baptist minister who was mightily used of God in the gifts of the Spirit. He let the time he consecrated to God in devotions get whittled away and he likewise testified to a decreased anointing.