My friend Telene is one of the most spiritual people that I know, and she gave a great talk on Sunday that I’ve been thinking about ever since. She related a “real life” situation to our prayer experiences, and it was SO GOOD that I thought it was worth sharing with my web friends.
One day Telene got a call from her daughter Nicole who was upset and really needed to talk to her mother. At some point during the conversation, Nicole realized that Telene wasn’t responding and said something like, “Mom, I can’t hear you. Are you there??? I really need to talk to you! Are you there?” Although Telene could hear her daughter clearly and distinctly, apparently Nicole’s reception was virtually nonexistent. Realizing that it was fruitless to continue talking to Nicole to reassure her that she was listening, Telene hung up and texted (is that proper English?) her. While I don’t recall the exact words, they were something akin to, “I am here, and I can hear you. Please continue talking to me, and whenever you hang up, I’ll text you back or call you later.”
Telene said that as she was sending that text message to Nicole, she suddenly thought of the parallel between that sitation and ours when we attempt to communicate with God. He is always there, and He hears us perfectly well. However, we can’t always hear Him, and we might frantically wonder, “Are You there? Can You hear me? I really just need to talk to You.” Of course, He’s there and is aware of our pleadings, requests, woes, heartaches, decisions, and worries. Sooner or later, we’ll hear from Him, and while it might not be in the form of a text message, we’ll get our answers nonetheless.
mom's musings 
This reminds me of the ones in scripture who argued with God for others and/or b/c they felt deserted. Garth Brooks has an old song…”Sometimes God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers”. Just when we may not think He’s paying attention…
Aren’t kids a hoot?!? My son sometimes tells me things that make me think, “Lord, what do I do with this info?” Hard not to be protective but can’t think for him! 😉
Wow! Great illustration! It reminds me of the new cell phone commercials where the people are talking and one person gets cut off in the middle of the conversation and the other person is left standing there trying to explain why they were saying what they were saying(I hope that makes sense) Thanks for the post.
@ Odale- I love that song, just for that meaning!
@ Miss Marla- what a strong message! and the comparison is outstanding
Odale, I remember that song…and can really identify with it too! I’ve been thinking a lot about prayers lately and am actually thinking of writing a book on and about them. I was thinking about going through the scriptures and seeing exactly how many references there are to prayer…for starters. Just a thought. Want to co-author it?
About those children, sometimes ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?
Real Church People (how’s that for a greeting?), Thanks for stopping by and posting something.Yes, I’m familiar with those commercials; they’re quite amusing. A couple of weeks ago or so I blogged something about the comparison between how people treat their cell phones and how they treat their Bibles. You might want to check it out because even though it’s sort of funny, it’s also a little sad. Okay, very sad.
CowGal, Always a pleasure to hear from you. I love your latest avatar. I visited your site last night and enjoyed reading about your trip and looking at the pictures. Some of them brought back a lot of memories, and others gave me a touch of wanderlust. One of these days I hope to have the $$ and time to travel.
Thanks for your kind words, but I can’t take credit for the comparison. My friend Telene came up with that.
It would be so much fun to collaborate with you on a project, Jayne! Wow, I don’t know if my writng is up to your descriptiveness, though…you have such a flair! “Just the facts” grantwriting does that to a writer, I guess! LOL In that respect, I am proficient in reseach, and, ironically, started a search on prayers a few weeks ago… and the “library is my friend”. Will definitely keep this in mind.
It seems that realizing many do not know how to pray prompted the thought process and I got sidetracked with work and revisions… This would be an edifying process, Jayne, and it’s an honor that you would ask. Thank you for always giving me a boost!
God Bless You Always, In All Ways.
That was a great post! An absolute modern day parable! 🙂
Thank you for sharing.
Dale, It’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about. I’m just not sure what direction to go in yet. Should it be a book of devotionals linked to specific scriptures on prayers? Should it be a compilation of different prayers for different occasions? It’ll come to me…or to us.
I loved her talk as well. Thanks for writing about it and reminding me of this communication. I love the Garth Brooks song, too. Yes, sometimes our greatest answers come as unanswered the way we wanted them to be answered–it just sometimes takes a while to realize it. Thanks again.
You’re pretty spiritual yourself! Now that I’m getting to know you a little better from your blog and our class, I can see how strong you are and what a wonderful family you are a part of.
Speaking of prayer, I thought yesterday’s RS lesson was great. On the way to work this morning, I thought of Joyce’s comment about her sister. Do you remember? She said that her sister often ends her prayers by saying something like, “Is there anything you need to tell me? Anything I need to know?” Then she waits for an answer instead of zooming off to whatever task is next. Great idea, huh?