For the video version of Jack’s prayer, please click here.
Living, loving, and working during the Pandemic in 2020 were real challenges for me and for you. To survive and succeed we needed to adapt in many unexpected ways. We had to make use of technology to work remotely, to restore our pantries with food by online shopping, and to stay in touch with those we have been separated from. To stay connected with those we could not hold. Those we could not touch. Those we could not even extend handshake greetings at a business meeting or embrace another in church to share God’s peace.
Out of necessity, I resorted to virtual technology to do what I did before in person in my calling as a Collaborative Divorce Lawyer. At my age, I have gone from being a Boomer to becoming a Zoomer.
Although there are many benefits of virtually meeting with others, I have had to overcome challenges in the use of this technology. I needed a powerful internet signal. A high-resolution camera to be seen by others. To be clearly heard, a background noise-canceling microphone. A selfie light to look my best to others. An iPhone, iPad and a desktop to make long-distance virtual relationships work. The latest Zoom software so that in communicating with others I could be heard and I could effectively listen to what others were saying.
Despite the virtues of virtual communication and the best technology, I still have had difficulties. Loss of electrical power. Interruption of cable or satellite signal. Frozen images. Garbled words from speakers. Voices that are in audible or echo back at me.
This morning as I was about to begin my daily prayer I had a question. “What if I could communicate with God by Zoom?” Instantly, I realized what should have been obvious to me. For generations, we, as children of God, have been communicating virtually with God.
Although we would like to reach out and physically embrace God or see God’s Face with our eyes, that is not possible. Despite that, we all have a virtual relationship with our Creator through prayer. Isn’t prayer far easier, more convenient, and more accessible than Zoom could ever be?
In prayer, each of us can virtually communicate with God and have a close relationship with God without the necessity of any technology or material things. Sadly, those who have suffered most in the Pandemic do not have a job from which to work remotely or any money to buy the technology to use virtual communication. The good news is that they and we in prayer can receive all of the benefits of Zoom, of virtual communication with God without downloading software or buying equipment and accessories.
As with Zoom, we can meet with God at any time, any place, without traveling to another destination, without waiting, without spending money, without incurring travel expenses. The simple truth is that prayer is our Internet connection, our virtual sacred pathway to have a direct relationship with our living God. In prayer, we can share with God unlimited information and our entire concerns in real-time. In prayer, there is nothing we cannot say or turn over to God. No burden so heavy which we cannot surrender to our loving God. There is no limitation on how our powerful God and wise Lord may answer our needs, our questions, or our prayers.
Although many of us prefer kneeling as we pray to God, the only position that we need to assume is how and where we find ourselves at any given moment. There is no need to sit in front of a camera or desk. I can and do pray to God in my wheelchair. We can speak with God in our cars, in the kitchen, in the shower, or bathtub. God is virtually with us wherever we are.
In prayer, we are able to do something that Zoom can never do for us. We can speak to God without even saying a human word. For God even hears our thoughts. And, in prayer, we can hear God’s words without God speaking to us in human voice.
One reason Zoom is so beneficial is that it saves organizations millions of dollars. It brings the world closer to one another. It is Green. Using it does not add to the carbon footprint. No carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere from exhaust fumes from air and land travel. For those who are concerned about the environment, I think prayer is the ultimate environmentally-friendly form of activity on Earth. The only fuel needed to have a virtual relationship with God is our love for Him and trust that God is listening to us in prayer. In prayer, we are brought nearer to God and ever closer to one another.
God has spoken to us in Scripture about prayer.
Jeremiah 29:12
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
Job 22:27
You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
Psalm 17:6
I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
God, in prayer please help each of us to make time for You, for You are always present for us.
God, in prayer please help us to see our precious virtual, meaningful relationship with You.
God, please help us know that prayer is the best part of every day.
God, please help us to set aside a few minutes every day to pray and to thank You for the innumerable benefits and blessings You have bestowed upon us. Amen
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If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click on here to go to Amazon.
Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur, and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel Website.
Image credit: thedepotchurch.org
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