Heart-to-Heart Chatter

At the heart of Christianity is taking Christ to heart.  That means encountering Christ as a real presence, a real human being in my life.  I can't have a personal relationship with Christ as a concept, an idea, and ideal.  How do I move to encounter Christ as God, but also as a human person?

If Augustine's Confessions can be taken as an example, the first step -- a step that took many years for Augustine -- is conversion.  The first 8 books of the Confessions detail that journey.  Then comes the rest of life, which, according to Augustine, involves being Christ's servant and companion.  Augustine had a colorful expression for this phase as he closed the first chapter of Book 9.  He said, "and I used to chatter to you." (et garriebam tibi).

That strikes me as a genuine mark of personal encounter. Chattering away shows familiarity in my relationship with another person, and that the relationship is alive and well.  Of course, chattering away with God, as Augustine did, is another word for prayer.

Lord, help me to be garrulous with you, to chatter away with you, even while I listen for your answering word.