The Original IM Message

(originally written for the "KOG in the Wheel" September 2006)

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. - Romans 8:26-27

Recently I read that email is dead. Yup, kids of today prefer IM and text messaging to e-mail as the way to communicate. I can understand that. It's instant communication, it's silent, and there are all those really cool abbreviations and emoticons you can send. (Of course, I sent the wrong one to my son once and was met with "ewww, Mom! That's gross!")

Want to send a picture? Go for it! IM and TM can do the trick in an instant or two. With web cams, you can even have instant visual communication across the miles. It seems that IM and TM have even developed a separate language. When I first saw my sons' IM communications I thought it was just really bad spelling; "cya, ttyl, lol, rofl".... I mean, it might as well have been ancient Greek to me. It made no sense to me. Until my sons translated it into a language I could understand, I felt totally lost in the teen world of IM.

Sometimes we can feel the same way when we are asked to pray. I mean, when we hear prayers in church, it can feel like we need a special language to talk to God; "thee, thy, trespasses, righteousness...."

But Paul tells us we don't need a special language to talk to God. We can tell him whatever is on our mind or in our heart. We can talk to him in the same language and in the same way we talk to our friends. Even when we can't seem to put it into words, the Holy Spirit jumps in and translates what we say into the language God best understands - the language of the heart.

And just like in IM, sometimes messages cross and we get answers as we are chatting - praying. We may get the answer to that pesky problem that's been bugging us or our anger at someone may start to cool or we may think of someone who needs to hear a bit of good news to make their day brighter. You know, when you think about it, prayer is the original IM conversation. The best part is, no internet or cell phone connection is needed. We only need to start the conversation - any time, anywhere. God is listening. Happy messaging!