He was just 29 years old when his experiment paid off.
On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke into a wooden box with a cone-shaped mouthpiece. His voice traveled over a wire to another room, just out of earshot from Thomas Watson, Bell’s assistant. Answering that very first phone call, Thomas heard, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you!”
It all happened 150 years ago—this week.
When He thinks about you and me, pondering our “checklist” approach to prayer, I wonder if God is ever tempted to borrow Alexander Graham Bell’s famous line: “Come here. I want to see you!”
The truth is, He does want to see us, be with us, hear from us. There isn’t the tiniest detail of your life that doesn’t fascinate Him.
So, isn’t prayer supposed to be a conversation built on a relationship? But what kind of worthwhile conversation is entirely one-sided? Can we really call it a relationship when our “intimacy with God” is as predictable as it is mechanical?
So often, we come to Him with only a list. But what God wants is our love. And love has always been spelled T-I-M-E. What if instead of asking for presents, we gave Him our presence?
I ask you—as I ask myself—when was the last time you came to see your Heavenly Father—just to visit? When did you last talk with Him because you could —not because you “had to.” How long has it been since, instead of giving Him your shopping list, you gave Him your silence? Or praise. Or song.
Like everyone else, I’m a struggler. But I somehow find it easier to relax and talk with God—as a friend—when I’m out in nature. Choosing to just talk—and listen—becomes so much more natural when I’m deep in the woods. Maybe for you, that happens when you’re listening to praise music, or singing a hymn, or sketching a picture. The important thing is that we find what helps us move from formality to reality, from plastic to organic.
Listen closely. Do you hear something? It might well be the voice of God saying your name, followed by “Come here! I want to see you!”
