Tune Into God

John Hartford was a prolific songwriter and recording artist active from the late 1960s through the early 2000s. He is perhaps best known for writing the song “Gentle on My Mind,” which became a major hit for Glen Campbell. He also wrote the song “Turn Your Radio On.” Here is the chorus of that song.

Turn your radio on, turn your radio on
   And listen to the music in the air
Turn your radio on, turn your radio on
   Heaven's glory shared, Heaven's glory shared
Turn your lights down low, turn your lights down low
   And listen to the Master's radio
Get in touch with God, get in touch with God
Turn your radio on, turn your radio on

This morning, while I was praying, my humble prayers felt a bit off; it was like I was having a one-way conversation. Have you ever felt that way? So, I decided to “enter His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4) I have found that praise is a good way to enter into worship, and worship into prayer. However, the first song that came to me was “Turn Your Radio On.” I thought, “Where did that come from?”

I quietly sang a bit of it, and I became aware that it wasn’t that my “radio” wasn’t turned on. Instead, my reception was fuzzy because I wasn’t precisely dialed into God. I hadn’t taken the time to unclutter my mind. I had stray thoughts that were trying to get my attention. I needed to take a step back and do as the Psalmist wrote: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”

Perhaps a better analogy than a radio is tuning a guitar. When a string is out of tune, it interferes with the message of the song being played. If we are slightly out of tune with God, our prayer time will feel off.

So often, the time we set aside to be intimate with God is the time when our minds flood with every unfinished task and all the things we want to do that day. But we cannot be healthy unless we make time specifically for God. Jesus said, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) We all know we need food and water, but time alone with God is even more important.

So, I want to encourage you in your prayer life. If you have times like I had today, maybe you need to back up and declutter your mind. Tune your guitar, dial into Jesus. Then enter God’s presence through praise and worship, and then prayer. We have this amazing promise from God: “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” (James 4:7-9 NLT)