Hi-Fi or Wi-Fi?

(Please note:  This is an updated post from a few years ago.  Please enjoy.)

I know by writing this, I’m dating myself a bit, but when I was younger (MUCH younger!) we used to listen to a Hi-Fi stereo system.  It was a piece of furniture, made of wood, complete with legs and fabric-covered speakers, and it had an enormous hinged cover that had to be locked into the “open” position or it would slam shut as your head and upper body was “inside” trying to adjust the settings!  It had a turn-table for records, an AM/FM radio, and even storage for albums and other gear.  It stood proudly, if awkwardly, in the living room or family room, off to the side of the other large piece of entertainment furniture, the giant television set, complete with rabbit-ear antenna.  Hi-Fi stood for “High Fidelity”, reassuring us that the sounds issuing from this box were as close as we could get to “being there” for concerts, broadcasts, and other recordings.  Our model was “old school”– there was no remote control, no way to record in any other medium (no tape deck or USB port), no “pause” or “mute” function– all the knobs and buttons and “arms” had to be operated by hand.

Today, we have “Wi-Fi”– a word that looks and sounds very much like the earlier “Hi-Fi.”  Many people think that Wi-Fi probably stands for “Wireless Fidelity.”  I looked it up– the “Wi-” does stand for wireless, meaning that information is transferred via radio waves, eliminating the need for a wire or cable connection.  But the “Fi” part does NOT stand for fidelity (or anything else, exactly).  It is simply a brand name for a particular wireless protocol See more about the definition of Wi-Fi here.   Still, wireless communications, including cell phone service and internet, has radically changed our world, making it possible to connect with virtually anyone, anywhere, any time.  It is a marvelous innovation with potential for great good.  In our world and culture of global communications, we rely on Wi-Fi or wireless connections every day.  We use them for information, entertainment, business, and social networking.  I rely on it for this blog.

When it comes to prayer, it’s important to recognize the important difference between Hi-Fi  and Wi-Fi .  Both are important, but they are not the same.

High Fidelity Prayer (as I see it) is consistent, daily prayer.  Faithfully coming before God and seeking His face.  Some may use a rote prayer for grace, or bedtime prayers, matins, or other standardized prayers.  Others may set aside a daily time to pray–15 minutes in the morning, or an hour after breakfast, or even 10 minutes before bedtime.  Some people set an alarm to pray at a certain time each day.  Many even make a habit to pray with a group once or twice a week.  To some, this type of prayer may seem passe, outmoded, old fashioned–after all, if God already knows our every thought, why does it matter if we pray every day or meet with the same group?  It matters because fidelity matters– faithfulness, even in the “small” things, matters to God.

High Fidelity Prayer may seem awkwardly placed in the middle of our “living room”–forcing us to take time; to make and keep a commitment; to face questions or ridicule–it may seem clunky and wooden at first, even scratchy and hard to tune.  And it depends on being “plugged in” to our power source! Hi-Fi prayer is meditative, deliberate, and worship-focused. We should be careful, however, of making Hi-Fi prayer a relic. Many Hi-Fi stereos from “my day” are now collecting dust, or being used to hold plants or books! Hi-Fi prayer must be practiced– even in an age of Wi-Fi lifestyles– if it is to do us any good.

Wi-Fi Prayer is not the opposite of Hi-Fi Prayer.  It is not “wrong”, or illegitimate.  In fact, it is great to know that we can talk to God anywhere, any time, for any reason.  Wi-Fi Prayer (again, as I see it) is spontaneous prayer that is poured out to God “in the moment”.  It can happen as you are driving or walking down the street (just don’t close your eyes!)  It can happen alone or with a group.  It can happen in response to something you overhear on a bus or a train, or read in an e-mail, or hear on the news.  It is not a substitute for Hi-Fi Prayer, but it is certainly a healthy addition to it.

But Wi-Fi Prayer, just like Wi-Fi communication, can be taken for granted.  Wi-Fi prayers can become “small” and “hand-held”– things we bring before God because it seems like the thing to do.  We tend to put little thought, and even less grammar, into our wireless messages; we sometimes put little thought, and even less doctrine, into our Wi-Fi prayers, relying on common phrases that sound religious, but lose meaning.  “Jesus just be with _____________ during this time”, “put a hedge of protection around ________________”, “I’m just claiming your promises, Lord.”  There is nothing “wrong” with any of these statements, but what do we really mean?  Isn’t Jesus always with us?  Why is protection always a “hedge”?  Which promises are you claiming?  Again, there is nothing wrong with any of these phrases, and we know that the Holy Spirit can understand even our deepest utterances and wordless groaning.  But just like auto-correct can mess up the simplest message, so our auto-pilot praying can mimic real communication with our Lord and Creator.  There are entire comedy routines built around this kind of praying– but it creates an uncomfortably convicting kind of laughter.  We should not be shamed out of Wi-Fi prayer, but we should also be careful not to let our prayer lives become a joke.  Thankfully, God listens to our hearts and not just our words!

Hi-Fi or Wi-Fi, prayer is a sure connection to a faithful God.

On a final note, whether we have to turn down the knob or hit mute, there is another important “sound” principle of prayer– LISTEN!  There have been some voices mocking this element of prayer, claiming that those who claim to “hear” from God are hallucinating or just plain crazy.  God rarely ever speaks aloud and directly to an individual–even Jesus, while He claimed that He only did what His Father “told” Him to do– never claimed to hear the audible voice of God telling Him what to do or where to go next.  There are only a few recorded instances of anyone else “hearing” the voice of God directly throughout history.  But there are countless instances of people discerning the “voice” of God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit throughout the ages.  How?  Often through changes in circumstances, other trusted voices, new insights into scripture, or the “still small voice” of their own conscience giving confirmation.  One caveat about “listening” for the voice of God– it will NEVER lead you to contradict God’s own word or act in contradiction to His character.

We have a Hi-Fi, Wi-Fi kind of God–let’s keep in tune, log in, and listen!