An American on vacation inside a church noticed a golden telephone with a sign "$10,000 per call". He asked a priest what the telephone was used for. The priest said it was a direct line to heaven and you could talk to God.
Later he travelled to Canada. The first church he entered, there was the golden telephone with a sign under it "50 cents per call." So he asked the priest, "Why is talking to God so cheap here?" The priest smiled, "You're in Canada now, son. It's a local call."
Would God be surprised if you gave him a call right now?
In a morning Bible study a group of women were studying how to live in a loving relationship with their husbands. They were asked, "How many of you love your husbands?" All the women raised their hands.
Then they were asked, "When was the last time you told your husband you loved him?"
A few women answered today, some said yesterday, and some didn't remember. Then they were asked to take their phones and send this text message, "I love you, sweetheart."
After a few minutes the women were asked to exchange phones and read aloud the responding text messages. Here are some of the replies:
Who is this?
Uh, mother of my children, are you sick?
I love you too.
I don't understand what you mean.
What did you do now?
Am I dreaming?
I thought we agreed we would not drink during the day.
Your mother is coming to stay, isn't she?
What would God's reaction be if you sent Him a text right now that said, "I love you"?
To get at the heart of our communications with God I want you to ask yourself how you address God when you pray. Which title do you use most frequently? "Abba" is good.
At the risk of turning this into a short course on prayer I want to list a few thoughts I hold dear about prayer:
God is always present - don't be a stranger to Him.
God is forgiving - forgive others.
God is loving - deep prayer is communication with your lover.
Praying in the Spirit - the Spirit will give you the words if need be.
Be thankful! Be thankful! Be thankful!
Ask for help - for yourself and for others.
Ask for guidance, for wisdom.
Prayer is talking with and listening to God.
There is a story about St Francis de Sales and the mayor of his town. The mayor said, "I have so much to do that I can't spend an hour in prayer." Francis said, "Anyone as busy as you are needs two hours of prayer."
In our busy life it is great to note that all is prayer; all our efforts throughout the busiest day are prayerful service to a loving God who gave us this creation to work in. Gratitude is our first prayer!
We have many images of the God we pray to, and they are all great. What we most need to remember is that talking to God is a local call.
