Fellowship United Methodist Church

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. - Philippians 4:6

Communication in our society today should not be a problem because there is a myriad of ways to communicate with one another. There is face book, twitter, e-mail, and texting. You can even send e-cards for those special days to friends. Let’s not forget the old fashioned ways of picking up the phone or writing a letter. Unfortunately, even with all of these means at our disposal there are still problems. Recently, I had trouble with my server, and my e-mails would not go out to everyone (some of you experienced this problem…you received multiple copies of a devotional while others did not receive it). Then sometimes the e-mail is out in cyber space somewhere. One friend sent a reply to an earlier e-mail, only I didn’t get it until two days later.

I still prefer the phone because I like to hear the voice of the person with whom I am talking. I feel connected in a personal way. I can tell by the tone of their voice their mood and whether or not they are having a bad day. Also you can hear the joy as they share good news with you. I still like to get cards and letters from friends…these I can keep and when I am feeling down, I can reread the messages, and I know that I am loved and people care about me. No matter which method of communication you choose, the important thing is to communicate. Since we have so many ways to communicate, we have no excuse not to communicate. However, there is still the need to make the time to communicate.

We communicate with one another because we want to build and keep our relationships, especially those that are important to us. This brings me to this thought, what is it about communicating with God that we find so difficult? Shouldn’t our communication with God be a priority? After all it is very simple to communicate and does not depend upon a computer, phone system, or mail service. All we have to do is start talking and listening. Prayer can be done anywhere and anytime. It does not even require that we have a quiet place of solitude with eyes closed…this is my preference because I don’t have things to distract me while in prayer. Prayers can’t get lost in cyber space or file 13 at the post office.

Just as with any relationship there must be communication with God if we want a relationship with God. What about your prayer life? Is there room for improvement? Your prayers do not need to be long and filled with fancy words. They should be about what is on your heart. After you talk, listen to God just as you would to a friend…God’s voice is there.

Prayer: Precious Lord, I know in my mind that I need to talk with you but Lord sometimes I fail to pray as I should. Thank you for always being there. Help me to do a better job talking with you each day.