The reality is that most of us are rarely, if ever, alone with our own minds and souls. Even when we do find a few minutes of quiet, we're driven to check our devices for emails, texts, etc.

The 24/7 internet connection means we're never really free and we always feel behind. The Internet also continually entices us to explore its options through hyperlinks and ads so we can spend a lot of time on things for which we have little to show, adding to our unrest.

Neural science, which is the study of the brain, tells us that we have up to one billion brain cells with thousands of branches that communicate with each other much like a complex highway system. The more we attend to something, or the more we engage in certain behaviors, the more those particular cells communicate and the pathways between them deepen. This is how our values, our beliefs, and our motivations are actually formed.

The question I ask myself daily is whether my smartphone has been my servant or a silent taskmaster. The truth is that our devices can serve us greatly in our walk with God, even in helping us rewire our brains in positive ways.

Most people find it extremely difficult - if not impossible - to focus in prayer.

The monumental digital shift has taken place so fast, we haven't really had time or invested the energy to evaluate what this is doing to our culture, or how it's impacting us as individuals - physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

If you've managed to remain a Luddite - one who resists technology - you're surrounded by people who don't, so you're affected more than you may realize.