Prayer in 2012

It is hard to believe that we have reached the year 2012. I can remember when we were all preparing for Y2K. In the year 2000, many people thought we were going to have a technological meltdown, but we didn’t. So here we are in 2012 and technology has advanced to the smartphone, ipad, and ipod generation—advancements that continue to change the way we communicate with one another. While all of this is wonderful, we must never forget that these new exciting technologies have the potential to consume all of our time and cause us to miss out on hearing from God, through prayer.

Prayer is the most powerful communication method that we have to send and receive messages from our Creator and Heavenly Father. We cannot reach Him on our smartphones or via imessaging. However, He designed a way from the beginning of time to have instantaneous conversation with us. It is amazing to me that God has not changed the way we are to stay in fellowship with Him because he got it right the first time, and is therefore not on the line to keep up with current trends or technological advances. Prayer will never be obsolete, because God is from everlasting to everlasting, there is no end to His unfailing love. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 52:8b “I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.”

It is my desire to be able to make the Psalmist words my own. God’s love is unfailing. That is a strong statement to which I cannot say about human love. I certainly have failed others in my attempt to give and receive love, but I believe that if my deepest desire is to get to know God better, I will be able to say without any reservations that God’s love is unfailing. 1 John 4 is a great lesson on learning about God’s love. When I read it, it brought tears to my eyes because of God’s amazing love toward us. As I read it, I uttered the words “I not only want to walk in obedience to God, but I want to walk in God’s love.” Today, I believe that it is attainable because of 1 John 4:8-10 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” This is the love that I can be assured of, it has been tried and tested.

My prayer for this new year is to stay focused on God’s love and to remember that He loved me first and it was more than words. God demonstrated His love toward me, so that I would get a picture of what it looks like. Prayer keeps me connected to His love for me and others around me. Though I don’t necessarily believe in New Year’s resolutions, this is one that I aspire to live by.

God Bless You.