Samuel Morse demonstrates the telegraph for the first time in public.

In 1838, Samuel Morse unveiled the telegraph, demonstrating for the first time how signals could be transmitted by wire. Using a system of dots and dashes—now known as Morse code—the New York University professor showed how people could communicate over long distances nearly instantaneously. In some ways, you could call this the earliest form of today’s instant message—or IM.

The telegraph wasn’t, however, an instant success. It took Congress five years to agree to give Morse the money to build an experimental telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore, a distance of 40 miles.

The message, “What hath God wrought?” sent later by Morse code from the old Supreme Court chamber in the United States Capitol to Baltimore, officially opened the completed line on May 24, 1844. Morse allowed Annie Ellsworth, the young daughter of a friend, to choose the words of the message, and she selected this now well-known verse from Numbers 23:23.

Morse’s invention revolutionized communication. Being able to communicate rapidly opened up a whole range of possibilities that before had been impossible. Imagine your world without cell phones, email, or IMs. You would have to walk to your friend’s house to tell him anything, or send him or her a letter by good old snail mail. Thankfully, we don’t need any type of electronic device to help us communicate with God. All we need to do is speak or think and instantaneously God hears us. Prayer has been, and always will be, our IM to God. Use it today!

The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him sincerely (Psalm 145:18).

To Do

IM God today through prayer. Tell him what’s on your mind.

Also on this day . . .

1412—Joan of Arc was born.

1912—New Mexico became America’s 47^th state.

1942—The first commercial around-the-world airline flight took place.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.