A few months ago, I was leaving work and heading home. I picked up my phone to call my wife as I usually do. However, when I grabbed my phone, I discovered that it wasn't working. I had been having some problems with it, and now it was completely dead. For a geek like me, a dead cell phone is a big deal. I started thinking of every possible way of contacting my wife, and after about five minutes, I had come up with a complicated plan of using a computer to text her. As I was walking back into the office, it occurred to me that I could simply use the land-line phone in the office to call her. Such a simple and obvious solution; yet it took me five minutes to think of it. I realized that the reason I didn't think of such an obvious solution sooner is that I wasn't used to using a land-line phone to call her.
Our gut response to a problem is formed by the habits we make. When something happens, we turn to what has worked for us in the past. When it comes to communication, my cell phone and computer are my gut response (when a face-to-face conversation isn't possible). When it comes to my spiritual life, prayer should be my gut response, but I have to admit that it isn't always. This is probably because I don't pray as much as I should. But this experience taught me that my first response isn't always the best response. Prayer should be our first response in every situation. When we are used to praying to God about little things, it will be more instinctual to pray when bigger things happen. Prayer is the best response – in little situations and in big ones. I plan to make a habit of it.
Chad Hess
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