During my brother Harwood’s final week in Intensive Care, there were several churches and many individuals praying for him. Those prayers not only helped to sustain him through a terrible ordeal, but they helped to sustain his family through a tough time. They helped to draw me closer to God and to reach a deeper level of understanding of who God is and how truly He is love. Yet sometimes I forget as the cares and pains of this world drag me down! Then I am reminded of the lessons learned from Harwood’s life and I am lifted up again.

    I remember how near God seemed at that particular time. He is always near, but sometimes we seem to think He has gone on vacation without leaving a cell phone number for emergencies. In case anyone was out to lunch when God’s cell phone number for emergencies was given out, it is 7-7-2-9-3-7 (or you can just dial the letters P-R-A-Y-E-R). It is a 24-7 number. He is always available.

    There is no answering machine or voice mail. There are no wires to cross or to blow down in a windstorm, or to short out during a flood. There are no batteries to go dead in the middle of the conversation. There is no satellite connection vulnerable to solar flares. There is no static or atmospheric interference on the line, at least none from His end of the call. We can hook up with Him from a party line, a conference call, or just enjoy a private conversation on a secure line. There is no eavesdropping, scanning, or hacking on this connection. Modern technology cannot equal this marvel for bandwidth or line speed. I’m talking about a gift called prayer. Not even the most violent of thunderstorms can knock out the power when we have God on the line.

I’m talking about a gift called prayer.

    Even the poorest among us can afford to make this connection and to keep the line open as long as we need to speak. There is no monthly fee, no hidden charges, and no tiny print in the contract. Each of us has our account stamped “PAID IN FULL!” Jesus paid that debt for us when He died in our stead and went to the right hand of God to intercede for us. What we need to do is to accept this free gift, use it regularly, and share it liberally with others.

    P-R-A-Y-E-R is not a long distance exchange. It is a local number. God is always listening. He encourages us to dial His number at any hour and from any location — even when we have taken a wrong turn or gotten lost following a detour.

    And in an emergency, no 9-1-1 operator could respond more rapidly.

    Go ahead. “Phone home” today — and every day. God is just a prayer away.

    And God is eagerly awaiting your call. After all, He loves you. And we all enjoy hearing from those we love. So reach out and be touched by Someone!

© 2001 Janice Price. Used by permission.

Title: "God's Emergency Number"
Author: Janice Price
Publication Date: April 5, 2001

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