The first afternoon I sat with my laptop, beginning to list
all the things I wanted to pray about. I got up for a drink of water, and
suddenly I heard a “beeping” sound. It seemed to be coming from the bathroom,
but it stopped when I went to investigate.
I turned around and heard it again. Beep, beep, beep. Maybe it was the smoke detector, I thought. I walked
back into the bedroom—more beeping. But when I stood in the center of the room,
nothing. I started to sit down on the couch, and beep, beep, beep.
Maybe it was coming from the room next door. I listened at
the wall, resisting the urge to put a glass to my ear like they do in the
movies. Wouldn’t want to get carried away. But no, the neighbors were quiet.
Honestly, this is the kind of thing that drives me nuts. I
am overly sensitive to noise, and have been known to hunt down crickets at
night because they were cricking under my window.
By this time I wasn’t praying, thinking about prayer, or
even making a list about prayer. I was just waiting for the next insane beep,
beep, beep.
I decided I’d go for a jog to clear my head. I changed into
my jogging clothes, put on earphones, and ran for a half hour or so up a jogging
trail near the ocean. No beeping, thank God. On the way back to the motel, I
started worrying about the noise and how I would be able to pray, sleep, or
anything else. Finally I prayed about it—Lord, show me where the noise is, or
help me get another room.
No beeping when I walked back into the room. I showered, changed into my clothes and walked to the couch. Beep,
beep, beep. Noooooo! That’s enough! I started for the motel office,
preparing a little speech for the manager so she would give me another room. Beep, beep, beep, beep.
Wait a minute. It seemed to be coming from...my pocket! I pulled out my cell
phone, and saw that there were a bazillion random characters on the display.
Each time I had moved, I was hitting a key. I tossed the cell phone on the
table. Sweet silence! Thank You, Lord.
So I told my wife this little story, and she said it sounded
like it was a spiritual warfare kind of distraction. Maybe there are some lessons in the beeping.
- The enemy uses my silliest fears and weaknesses to distract me from what’s truly important.
- Mostly the stuff that bothers me is what I’m carrying around.
- Jesus graciously answers my prayers for help—even when the request might seem trivial to other people.
