In this blog, I aim to be transparent and share some of my thoughts and experiences. I am trying to apply what the Bible says in James 5:16: “We must confess our faults to one another.”

This Tuesday, I experienced an epiphany while driving to work. God placed these thoughts in my mind. Throughout the day, I converse with many people due to work and my friendships in general. Yet, the God of Heaven, who is ever present with me, is hardly ever interacted with during the day. Like the Patriarch Abraham, we should view God as our closest friend, someone we cherish and desire above all else, for He is our most beloved companion.

In a healthy relationship, individuals often desire to communicate with their partner frequently. They long to speak to them in the morning, at lunch, in the evening, and at nighttime. Why? Because we cannot get enough of our beloved and want to interact with them constantly. It doesn’t feel the same when you’re apart and not speaking for long or even short periods. We need to be in their space, interacting and communing with them.

Now think about our beloved God, the beloved above all beloveds, the one who says He is a jealous God. How do you think He feels when our days are consumed with other people and things, and we place little priority on Him? We often give Him a quick prayer in the morning; if God is lucky, He might receive another prayer later at night just before we pull the covers. The only exception might be when we have urgent needs and we are up in His face every minute.

How do you think our beloved feels when we sideline Him in this way? Who loves more hurts more, and God is pure love. What do you assume He is thinking and feeling when we neglect Him? He is hurting; some of us hurt God daily through neglect and disrespect. If our current partners or spouses treated us this way, it would hurt us to our core, yet we still treat God this way. 😢

On Tuesday, God conveyed His message to me, saying, “Dane, I am hurting Him!” He expressed His desire for me to connect with Him throughout the day. Whether I’m at my desk, walking to the printer, using the washroom, sitting in meetings with colleagues, or commuting to and from work, including during lunch breaks in the office, this is the kind of connection and continuous interaction that our beloved truly wants and deserves from us.

We must evolve from scheduled prayer to constant communication with God. Prayer must be consistent and integrated into our lives, so that other activities become the interruptions and not the other way around. This belief, I think, reflects the apostles’ experience. If we want to see power return to the church, this is what is needed again: individuals who have a consistent connection with God. 

This brings me to my second experience, which I want to share. Some years back, I was in the UK visiting my sister. One night during this visit, I watched television late while everyone else was asleep. God told me to stop what I was doing and go pray. He repeated this about three times throughout the night. But my flesh insisted that I was on vacation and needed to relax. Do you know what happened? I literally went to bed after 5 am and felt so bad afterwards. I felt so ashamed that I betrayed my God. I exchanged the presence of my Father for an object (television). I felt hurt that I hurt my Father.

Later that morning, when I woke, I felt God tug at my heart again. I felt God say to me in a kind and loving voice, as a friend would say to their beloved, “Dane, all I wanted to do is spend time with you.” This broke me! It wasn’t the Almighty being that He is, commanding His subjects to come and bow down and pray to your God! It was a beloved speaking to their beloved, saying, “I want you in my life, I want us to share our lives together!”

I kid you not. This experience has haunted me and has been with me all my life because I denied my beloved the joy of being with me. God told me that day, “I don’t just want to hug you; I want to be hugged by you!” People who love their beloved should not deny them the pleasure of who they are and what they give.

These two experiences made me feel ashamed. Based on the examples, I know that might be a strong comment, but I am only saying how it made me feel.

Another example is 12 years ago, when I did something wrong. While walking away, I looked left and right to see if anyone had seen what I had done. At that moment, God spoke to me from above and said, “Dane, you looked left and right, but you forgot to look up!” I felt foolish as I walked away because what I was hiding from men was open to the eyes of God.

I thank God for the times when He can correct us with both softness and sternness, for He is a loving God who corrects those He loves (Proverbs 3:12). I pray that men’s hearts are always ready to receive correction from God or the men and women He sends as His agents.

Why did I write this blog? I wrote it to remind us that the Heavenly Father loves us and desires us to be as close to Him as possible. Therefore, let’s remove the idols of self, money, social media, people, and any object that creates a wedge and brings separation between us and our beloved. 

Every father wants their children to be close and have a fantastic relationship with them. Let us learn to cultivate that relationship! I underscore again, let us put aside things that come between us and our God and give Him the love He deserves.

PS: Dane Miller was last seen engaged in a deep conversation with God during the workday when someone disturbed them by entering his office to discuss work.  

 Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller – “God is the Author, I am the Pen”

Authored Book – What is the Woman Saying – Lessons from Biblical Women.

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