Leaving a Message

“Why was no one there when I came? Why was there no one to answer when I called? Is my arm too weak to redeem? Or do I have no power to rescue?” Isaiah 50:2

I remember the morning after Daddy joined Jesus in his new home, we split up the list of people to whom we were to contact. Daddy’s work was first on my list, so I sat down to make the call. I was completely caught off guard when the answering machine clicked on and his voice pleasantly invited me to leave a message. His sweet voice assured me that he would return my call as soon as he could…but I knew that he was not there…that I would never get that call returned.

I sometimes feel like I’m leaving a message on God’s voice mail, hoping He will return the call. With my deepest desires on my lips and in my heart, I call to Him waiting for Him to answer me. Thoughts of whether He is still there…will He hear my message…will He return the call? But this morning I read our verse above and was convicted that maybe He is getting my voice mail…my rehearsed and formal message in my prayers, promising Him things on which I don't deliver. Am I giving Him the appropriate time to speak to me or am I just praying to check it off my list? (He knows it anyway, right?) The point is not whether He knows it or not, but rather will we bring it to Him to discuss in our fellowship time. Just as a voice mail only gives us limited information, short-circuited prayers lack the opportunities for God to discuss the details of our lives. I wonder how many times He came to me but ‘no one was there?’ Why didn’t I answer Him when I felt the conviction of the Spirit? It wasn’t until I turned to Him in intentional worship and meditation on His word that He connected His strength with my weakness. It wasn’t until the suffering came, that I kept dialing His number until He indeed showed me He was able to save.

Our prayer life can be challenging with life’s competing distractions. (After all a girl must check her Facebook first thing in the morning, right?) Many mornings my first call to God is for Him to settle my mind and heart so that I can focus on our communication. In my Bible Study, Priscilla Shirer talks about how she ‘deals authoritatively’ with her distractions and emotions. We must have authority over our thoughts and behaviors to really hear from God. He wants us to be home when He visits, and to answer when He calls.

“Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” Jeremiah 33:3.