Read
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble
Psalm 46:1
Reflect
Emergency operators have probably heard it all. There are stories about people who dial 9-1-1 just to talk, drunk people who call them to report on their own drunk driving and one guy who dialed when he ran over a pigeon. He wanted them to dispatch an emergency crew with a defibrillator to restart the pigeon’s heart. A man phoned to see if he could get some cigarettes delivered, one woman called because she was thirsty and wanted a glass of water and another dialed because she had opened a package and was terrified her child might be allergic to the packing peanuts.
The 911 emergency system is designed to connect us with a dispatcher when we call with an urgent need for police, the fire department or an ambulance. Clearly, sometimes people don’t get that word “emergency,” and they use the service for some unusual requests. But when we call for the right reasons, the operators are able to help quickly, in part because, even without us telling them anything, they can see a lot of information about us on their display, including our phone number, name and address. Countless lives have been saved because of the quick responses of savvy 911 operators.
Our prayer life shouldn’t just be a series of 911 calls to God. We should have a regular habit of prayer that amounts to just talking to him, even if it’s about a pigeon we just ran over or fears about packing peanuts. But there will be times when we, in desperation or pain, need to dial God with “911 prayers.” We might be hysterical, depressed, speechless, panicky or in extreme pain. We might not even know the right words to speak, but God can still hear our heart, and he has infinitely more information about us than any 911 display screen. The Lord knows our name and our circumstances, and His help is on the way.
As you go through your the days, weeks and months ahead, do your best to build a meaningful prayer life that involves frequent and even constant prayer to the Lord. But know especially that in your times of greatest need, you have the ear of the One who made you. He knows everything about you and He’ll be there every time you call.
Reflection copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
