It’s not my age. I have always had difficulty handling strings of numbers that are spoken too rapidly. My definition of “too rapid” are numbers spoken faster than I can write them down. When I was a pilot and needed to talk to air traffic control or the control tower I always spoke very slowly. They would respond with headings, altitudes and clearances at the same pace. If I forgot and rattled off the plane’s number the numbers I got back were way too fast for me to comprehend. It is the same way with my phone’s voice mail. People leave a message saying, “Call me” and then rattle off their phone number with such speed I never can get it. If they wonder why I do not call them it’s because I have a policy. If I cannot get their number written down after listening to their message four times, I give up.
Obviously I am not like God. Number one – He never gives up. Number two – He gets it the first time. He doesn’t need to listen four times. Number three – He actually gets it before we even call. He’s been watching and He knows our need and knows what to do. Sometimes when we pray we tell God our problem and then we tell Him how to solve our problem. When we think about that it is rather insulting. He is God. He knows. He doesn’t need us to explain. Recently I was at a large gathering and the person who prayed told God who we were and where we were and why we were gathered and what we needed from Him. Instead of talking to Him as an intelligent being we treat Him as if He was some vending machine in the sky.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 7, 2011
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org