The Voice On The Other End Of The Line

I do not think about the contacts I have in my phone.
I know they are there.
They are alphabetized.
They are easily retrievable.

I have a favorite group in my contacts.
That was an easy group to put together.
It is simply my family.
Without searching, their numbers are all there.

When sharing their cell number with me, often people have to look at their phone.
They have to look at their phone for their number.
They are embarrassed if they do not remember their number on their own.
I don’t call myself, is usually their reply.

It is good to do things which help to keep your mind active.
Some people do crossword puzzles.
Others do Sudoku or other number games.
I memorize and recite phone numbers.

I have all my family’s phone numbers committed to memory.
I will still click on their number in my favorite group to call them quickly.
However, I can call each of them using the keypad just as easily.
It keeps my mind engaged, I once said when asked why I do that.

I remember being so surprised at how many young children do not know their phone numbers.
I was equally surprised that they did not know their birthdays or their addresses.
I laminated a coloring page with a picture of a push button phone.
Our phone number was written on that page and my children practiced pressing the buttons.

I laminated a coloring page of a house.
Our address was written under the house.
My children learned to recite their address.
Phone numbers and addresses were important information for them to know.

Everything is so easy today.
Most things can be done at a push of a button.
The phone or the computer does the work for us.
There is no need to memorize those things that are essential to know.

Or so we think.

I received a text.
I needed to share a contact with someone.
I shared the number effortlessly.
I clicked my phone off.

I was in the kitchen and the phone rang.
We still have a landline.
We keep the landline so my husband can use it for conference calls, if need be.
Usually the calls on the landline are SPAM throughout the day.

I glanced at the caller ID.
Even though I was across the room, I could see our last name.
That’s funny, I thought, someone has the same last name.
Upon closer inspection, the person had the same first initial as my husband.

I continued doing what I was doing before the phone rang.
I heard a voice.
It was my voice.
It was the message I have on our answering machine.

I looked at my cell phone.
It had made the call.
I thought I clicked off my phone, but apparently I had not done it successfully.
When sharing the contact, I must have it the HOME button on my favorites list.

I was calling myself.

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)

We have a Heavenly Father who is available at any time of the day or night to hear our call.
We never get a busy signal.
God the Father is never unavailable.
God’s Word tells us that even before we call, He answers.

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24)

When we do not pray to God, it is like we are calling ourselves.
It is futile.
We dial the number only to find that we are on the other end of the phone.
Such a call is useless and ineffective.

When we fail to pray, we are calling ourselves.
Why call anyone else when we can figure it out on our own?
Why call anyone else when we know what to do?
Why call God; this is too small an issue for Him to be concerned.

When we make a call on our phones, we reach the other person.
We can actually talk to them if they are there.
We can try again later if the call was unsuccessful.
We can leave a message.

That frustration we feel when we fail to reach the other person, never happens with God.
As believers in the Lord Jesus, we have direct access to the Father.
Because of Jesus, we can freely come to the Father and know that He hears us.
We are actually calling a Person who created us, loves us, and knows us intimately.

What a comfort to know that Someone is on the other end of the line.
What a comfort to know that we are heard.
What a comfort to know that God promises to answer when we call to Him.
What a comfort to know that our call is never ignored.

Calling myself that day in my kitchen made me realize even more, the importance of prayer.
Prayer is a conversation.
Conversations cannot happen solo.
Conversations have both a speaker and a listener.

Call Him.
God the Father loves to hear His children talk to Him in prayer.
Pray in the name of His Son, Jesus.
Through Jesus, we can approach God in confidence and know that we are heard.

Call Him.
God the Father promises that He will answer.
Talk to Him in prayer.
God the Father is always available.

2 responses to “The Voice On The Other End Of The Line”

1. When we don’t pray It’s like we are calling ourselves. I love that! So often I don’t think to pray but lean on my own understanding which can be faulty.

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   • Paula, I think we all struggle from time to time with prayer. We want to lay our requests at God’s feet but then we grab them back again. I am certain that God knows our struggle. His Holy Spirit is there to help us.
     Gina

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