That said, sometimes something happens that is not the norm for Leah and I. A battery will go dead without one of us realizing it. Or perhaps we see the battery is dying and plug the phone in to charge. Then we walk into another room for a minute and don't take our phone, tethered in place as it is by the power cord. Sometimes I will not realize that my phone is on silent, since I don't turn my ringer off often, usually only at church, at the movies, quiet places like libraries and doctor's offices and at night if there are late games that might set off notifications and disturb Leah. That last one is the one that most often gets me in trouble.
It still isn't a frequent thing for me to silence my phone at night, so when I do I often forget to turn the ringer back on in the morning. This can cause anxiety for either Leah or me. Leah will occasionally text me on one of those days without me hearing the phone vibrate and realize what happened. Usually when the phone is on the charger, and I just didn't worry because I thought I would hear the ringtone, and was in the other room. She texts or calls and gets no reply. Ten to thirty minutes later another attempt. Then a little later another. By this time she will be forgoing the texting for calling. And if she gets voice mail at that time, she is usually quite worried. Why? Because 30 minutes to an hour without hearing back from me is unheard of and unusual.
Now, I am not as quick to worry when I don't get a response, not because I worry less but because Leah has her ringer on about as much as I leave mine off. She periodically checks her phone when she can, but she doesn't have the ringer on while driving, at work etc. So sometimes she doesn't hear my text or call. Sometimes she's busy with work, on the phone with one of her kids or her mom, or something else that keeps her from replying quickly. So I don't worry for a while. Usually.
This morning was one of those days. I turned the ringer off last night and forgot to turn it on this morning. But I didn't charge my phone overnight and needed to plug it in. I thought the ringer was on and that I would be able to hear it sing You Make Me Smile if Leah texted. I began doing my morning reading and praying. Then on one of the occasions that I got up to refill my coffee cup I sent a text to Leah telling her that I love her and wish her a blessed day. Returning to my morning meditations part of me waited with pleasure for Leah's ringtone, knowing it would come and the smile it would bring. There's a reason You Make Me Smile is Leah's ringtone, because she does make me smile.
But the return ringtone didn't sound off. Usually Leah checks her phone when she gets to work, so it surprised me that she hadn't responded. After another half hour I began to worry about the silence. I hoped nothing happened to her phone or her on the way to work. I went into the bedroom to take my phone off the charger and send her another text only to discover that she had responded quite some time ago. I missed it because I didn't hear the phone vibrate. But she had answered me. I smiled and sent another text before turning the ringer back on. In seconds she made me smile again as her ringtone sounded.
So why share this with you, Dear Reader? Because I know sometimes it feels like God isn't listening when we pray. The are You there God? feeling is due to what we perceive as a lack of His response. Our fervent prayers can feel like one-sided texting. We send the messages out and get no response in return. Is He ignoring us? Maybe we have accidentally punched in the wrong number or something? But the truth is that He is not ignoring us. He is not too busy to check His messages. He isn't putting us off while He finishes something important. We are His bride, the one He drops everything for when our individual ringtone goes off. He longs to hear that tone. He has a special place for each and every one of us.
But how often do we shoot up a prayer or dozens of prayers not bothering to make sure our own receiver is on before going on about the business of our lives? How often do we send a message and then set our spiritual phone down and leave it in our prayer closet as we head off to work or play without it? How often do we turn it on only to send and then turn it off again without even waiting for an answer?
Prayer is like any conversation. We actually have to listen in order to hear. We have to stop talking long enough for the other person to get a word in edgewise or the conversation can only be one-sided. We need to wait for the response and leave the line open with the volume up. It doesn't mean we can't go on to work or whatever else we need to do. We can carry our phone with us wherever we go. If we're listening, no matter what else we are doing we can hear the message come in. And then we can stop, smile because He loves us and is thinking of us, and read His message in the midst of whatever else is happening.
Turn up the ringer. Listen for the tone. You may be surprised to hear how often He sends His love.
Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on
May 25, 2016.
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