Better than Skype

I recently spoke with a friend who was going through a difficult time. I asked her if she had discussed it with God. She looked at me quizzically and mumbled, "Not exactly… I mean not directly."

Somehow it didn't seem appropriate to her to bother God with the trivial issues of her life.

Don't we all have difficulties in life? Do we also refrain from "bothering God with our problems," preferring to attempt to remedy them on our own? Maybe we feel that we are doing Him a favor by not burdening Him.

A turning point in the Jewish redemption from Egypt occurred when they cried out to God. They realized that only God could help them, they called out to Him, and that outcry was the catalyst for their deliverance.

Just as the Jews in Egypt collectively called out at a time of communal suffering, so too every individual can benefit by connecting with God in times of personal trouble. This lesson is especially true in today's self reliant society, where technology gives us so much power on one hand, but leaves us so dependant on the other.

It's not belittling to admit to our fallibility or inability to navigate through life on our own. Calling out to God need not be from hopelessness or desperation, rather it can stem from the awareness that He is here, He can help, He wants to help and He is waiting to hear from us. He has the ability to free us from various bondages in life, bonds in which we would otherwise be inextricably entangled.

We live in a generation where wireless communication has reached an unprecedented peak, yet peoples' inclination to employ "wireless communication with God" does not appear to have increased accordingly.

Perhaps static is obstructing the transmission. One's ego and the illusion that one is capable of doing everything on his own, can create a barrier to successful prayer.

It's up to us to reduce the static and tune in.

No satellite transmitters are necessary to make the connection. There is no charge involved (better than Skype). The line is never busy and He is always accessible to everyone.

This is an amazing, inalienable right bequeathed to every human being. Discuss your problems with God. Call out today.

While the answers may not always be as you anticipate, since God is all good, you can never go wrong.

And at the very least, forging a deeper relationship with Him is an enormous accomplishment in and of itself.