From Pagers to Siri

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 14:8-17

It’s crazy to think about how our methods of communication have changed over the years. This will probably date me a little, but when I got my first job out of college, I was given a pager. Yes, a pager! I thought I was so cool! Sometimes I’d have to go out of the office for work, and the pager made it possible for work to reach me if necessary.

My job was to help film video programs about environmental resources, so when I was paged, I was usually in the middle of a forest or wetland. As you can guess, finding a telephone to call back to work usually took awhile. However, the pager was my method of communication at that time in my life.

A few years ago I got my own cell phone – talk about moving up in the world! The direct and immediate communication the cell phone provided was amazing. When we got unlimited texting, I was amazed at how I could text people a message and usually get an instantaneous response.

Now there’s something called “Siri” on iPhone 4S. If you ask Siri something, Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. You can ask Siri, “Where can I find a good cheeseburger,” and Siri will list off the restaurants in your area that serve cheeseburgers.

Sometimes we forget we have our own Siri already in place. It’s called prayer. Any time of the day or night, we can call on God and He will answer us. (No cell phone service required!) Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” While Siri is one of the latest and greatest wonders in modern communication, God has had and always will have the corner on the communication market!

In the Old Testament, David and God often had personal conversations. Think about that for a minute! I’m talking about personal communication with the living God! Here’s one example of their dialogue in 1 Chronicles 14:8-17:

David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”

The LORD replied, “Yes, go ahead, I will hand them over to you.”

David asked God for direction and God answered him. Now that’s better than any pager, text message, or Siri. If man-made Siri can listen and understand you, how much more can the God who created you listen and understand you when you call on Him?

Prayer: God, You created me and You know me better than any person or phone ever could. I want to keep the lines of communication open between us. I promise to go to You for advice and I believe that You will listen to me and answer my prayers. Thank you for caring about me and loving me enough to provide a way for me to talk to You.