This Wednesday Work Blog let’s discuss the mystery of the phone. The phone has come a long way and over time it will continue to advance with technology. How much more can it advance? Well, that’s a scary question.
What I’d like to bring up for contemplation today is how we’re so attached to our phones. Let’s face it when we can’t find it we panic. When we leave the house without it we panic! The thought of going throughout our day without the phone causes anxiety.
I’ve left the house on a few occasions without my phone. I became aware of it before I reached my destination. The first thing we all do is look at the clock. This is because we’re estimating if we can go back for it. The next thing that goes through our minds is… estimating how important is for us to arrive on time at our destination. The next thing that goes through our minds is what’s on the agenda for the day. The next thing… is what we need to attend to on social media. The next thing… is wondering who we can call to bring our phones to us. All of this happens in about forty seconds. Next we console ourselves with how third world countries don’t have cell phones at their disposal… and they survive. Then we take deep-calming-breaths as we determine whether we’ll turn back for it… or if we’ll forge through our day without it.
With the convenience of having our phones by our sides, it begs the question… when we call someone why do we get their voicemail? We know the answer. We see it all the time. A person gets a call. They look to see who it is and then they decide if they’ll answer it or not. We too have been in that spot… many times over. There are the obvious reasons not to answer the unknown calls. But when we call al loved one or a friend and often get their voicemail, we know what’s happening. It’s selective answering. That’s right, I said it… selective answering. And like selective hearing with our children and spouse… it’s selective answering with our phones. the very phones we keep by our sides. I don’t care what that voicemail says… are we really too busy to pick up the phone? The gig is up. The convenience of cell phones have exposed us. But all this begs the question about answering God’s call.
God calls us to prayer. Yet, he doesn’t even get a voicemail. He made this prayer appointment with us after the fall. The one way we have to communicate with God and invite him into the equations of our lives is prayer. Yet do we call him?
It feels good when the family doesn’t give you selective answering. But my question is this… do we even hear the call of God to come to him in prayer? Have we relegated prayer to Sunday morning with the preacher… and left our prayer needs for others to pray? What does this say about our relationship with God? Do we have one? These are good questions. It’s quite sad that we freak out over forgetting our phone and yet we don’t give a second thought to our prayer lives. And all the while God says,
“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth, Psalm 145:18. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him.”
Therefore, my prayer is that with each phone call you receive, that you’ll be reminded to answer the call to communicate with God… and that you’ll initiate that. Seek him with all your heart and he will be found by you. It’s the only way to communicate with him… this side of heaven.
On this Hump-Day/Wednesday Work Blog… remember your prayer life. And remember that Friday is always acomin’ but most importantly, Christ is coming back too.