alert?

So many distractions are fighting for our attention, and technology has made this struggle even worse. I was talking with a friend about how children born in today’s generation are overloaded by technology, so much so that they don’t like to sit and read books or color. They instead watch YouTube or TikTok… Truth is, it’s not only the case with our kiddos, but I’m a witness that this new age of technology has impacted me significantly. With the click of a button, we can watch a tutorial on whatever we need to “quickly” learn instead of taking time to read manuals. Or we can open a social media app and talk to multiple people at the same time instead of calling or writing a letter.

Don’t get me wrong, technology is not bad at all. It helps us in many ways and provide great benefit. BUT…without balance and awareness, we can find ourselves glued to our devices. This can impact our relationships with others and even affect our relationship with God if we are not careful. Listening attentively in prayer means dealing with these possible distractions beforehand so that we hear Him clearly when He speaks. We have to be mindful of this at all times because God can speak to us at any time in multiple ways – other people, messages, pictures, etc.… So what happens if we are too glued to our devices or uncomfortable sitting still to hear when He speaks? We may miss Him. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to miss Him.

Being alert also means being fully present...

Contrary to our belief, we cannot be in two places simultaneously. To all my multi-taskers, sorry to break it to you…I know this is a hard pill to swallow because I had to learn the hard way. A few years ago, I was preparing to hand wash some clothes and remembered I was hungry, so I turned on the faucet in the bathroom while running downstairs to “quickly” warm up some food.. and yall, while I was waiting for the food to warm up, I started hearing what sounded like water rushing through the vents. I looked up at the vent, and water was coming out! I immediately ran upstairs to see if what I thought was happening was really happening. I immediately started screaming because the bathroom sink and counter were completely full of water, and water was all over the floor. Yes, you’re reading right. I flooded the upstairs bathroom as a result of “multi-tasking” and I was completely devastated. My husband wasn’t home, and when I called him in a panic, he couldn’t believe it. I called an emergency water removal service, and they came out to assess the damage. Thankfully, there was no long-term water damage, but we had to run these big fans throughout the house for a week and tap into our savings to cover the cost of the water removal service. Remember, this happened a few years ago, so I recently accepted this hard truth: multi-tasking really isn’t real. This lesson opened my eyes to see other areas of my life impacted by choosing to “split” my attention. As I reflected, I’ve concluded that it’s not worth it.

Why is all of this important? What’s the point???

The point of me saying all of this is to bring awareness to our conversations with God. As we become more aware of our actions in prayer, we will hopefully realize that conversations with God are the most important conversations we will ever have. And prayerfully, this awareness will keep us from drifting away from the truth. Hebrews 2:1 says, “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” One talk with Jesus changes everything! He literally knows the end before the beginning, which means He knows exactly what to do in every situation. And although sometimes we may not understand His instructions in our natural thinking, His plans for us are ALWAYS GOOD (Jeremiah 29:11). As we realize this and truly believe it before we know it, our hearts will be full of thanksgiving! Because He cares for us and knows the trajectory of our lives, we can be thankful IN ALL things. For there is nothing that we can ever experience that can separate us from His great love. Not death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38). So today, I pray that His overwhelming love pushes you to be watchful in prayer, eager to listen, and fully present in Him so you won't miss Him when He speaks.

“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know

that he will give us what we ask for.”

1 John 5:14-15

Feel free to comment below, we want to hear from you!

Be Blessed, Find Rest, & Share Goodness! ✨