Calling to God

One of the artists was Jimmy Little. Among the items he sang was his popular song, "Royal Telephone." The words of the refrain go like this -

Telephone to glory - O what joy divine!
I can feel the current flowing down the line.
Made by God the Father for his very own,
you can talk to Jesus on this royal telephone.

LifeLine offers help with the slogan that "Help is as close as the telephone" - a trained telephone counsellor is ready for your call. Of course, God is much closer than that - though, to quote another slick saying, "If God seems a million miles away, guess who moved!"

In Psalm 86 David seems to be getting desperate. He is calling for God’s help - "for I am poor and needy" (v. 1). There appears to be some threat to his life (v. 14).

He comes as one "devoted" to God as his "servant" who "trusts in" him. His situation has gone on for some time - he has been calling for God’s merciful intervention "all day long" (vv. 2-4).

In verse 5 we notice a shift in attitude. In case we get the idea that he deserves God’s help because of his exemplary life - "You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." (We note also verse 15, "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.")

Because of the nature of God (forgiving, good, abounding in love) David is confident of God’s answer in his day of trouble (v. 7).

There is only one God and his help is available to people of every race.

Verses 16 and 17 return to his prayer for help and end with an expectant and confident affirmation - "for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me."

God does hear the human call for help. Too often we wait until we are desperate before calling to him.

Some time ago, I read that over 95% of Australians pray to God at some time or another in their life. I don’t know what the figure would be today. But for most people there are times when "God" is more than an expletive!

Don’t wait for the crisis to come. Don’t leave the phone "on the hook" except for emergencies. Learn to relate to God in the good times. Receive his love that is so great that he sent his Son Jesus to open the way to forgiveness and life.

Then, when the hard times come, we will call to him in confidence - for he has helped and comforted us.

Prayer: Dear Father, we need you in the good times and the bad. Forgive us that so often we lose touch with you when life is pleasant and then call out to you when life is hard - even blaming you if you don’t give an answer our way soon enough! Help us to trust you and to live in your love all the time. Enable us to encourage others that you hear their cry for help, that you are with us continually. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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