Of necessity, I’m a master of the two-second prayer. Got a hormonal teenager weeping inconsolably? Holy Spirit, give me words! Coffee spilled on my laptop just before a deadline? Lord, show me another way to get this done!
For years I’ve sent up a hundred or more of these missives a day. But one day recently I wondered if there’s a difference between quick prayers and Tweeting God. Is this real communication, or am I merely posting status updates?
The thought nagged at me. Devotion isn’t about talking at God. A right relationship requires talking with Him. And that’s when it dawned on me that the distinction between a news flash to heaven and a two-second prayer lies in what happens in the two seconds after we hit “Send.” It’s only when we pause to listen that we shift from broadcast mode into devotion.
Two seconds to cry out to God. Two seconds to listen. And perhaps one more second is needed, for the only one-way prayer there is: Thank you.
