Jammers

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:1-9 ESV). There are some modern technologies being used in some strange applications today. I saw the following excerpt in an Associated Press article recently: It was the reporters who noticed first. Unable to call their editors while covering the weddings of the rich and famous, they asked the priest why their cell phones never worked at Sacred Heart. His reply: Israeli counterintelligence. In four Monterrey churches, Israeli-made cell phone jammers the size of paperbacks have been tucked unobtrusively among paintings of the Madonna and statues of the saints. The jarring polychromatic din of ringing cell phones is increasingly being thwarted — from religious sanctuaries to India's parliament to Tokyo theaters and commuter trains — by devices originally developed to help security forces avert eavesdropping and thwart phone-triggered bombings. The priests went on to say that the constant ringing of cell phones in the midst of worship was very distracting. Since they could not seem to convince people to turn them off, they installed the jammers. In order for others to be able to communicate to God more effectively, they kept other communication from taking place. I began to think about that and came to the conclusion that it may not be such a bad idea! God does want to listen to us. He will hear our prayers. However, He also wants us to pray them! I wonder how often God has not come to our side simply because we have not asked him? There are so many distractions in our world. Haven’t you noticed it in your life? Not until I began to write these Morning Devotionals did I find that quiet really did make it easier to meditate and study. I must confess that I had developed a habit of having soft music playing in the background when I would study before. Now I find the quiet so much more effective. What’s jamming your prayers? What are the distractions you’ve allowed to interfere with your communication with God? Whether they are innocent or not, if they have kept you from praying effectively, I encourage you to get rid of them. See what a great difference it will make to pray without any interference!