Call on Your Name by Elle Limebearနမူနာ

‘I will call on Your name.'

Lamentations 3:55-57 - “I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close Your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’”

In times of trouble and panic, Who you gonna call? “Ghostbusters!” 

Probably not. But the page on the contacts app where it says ‘Favorites’ are my go-to people. Easy to get hold of, they know me, they wouldn’t be phased about anything, they would drop everything if I really needed them. Those are my people.

We may not have God’s digits, we may not be able to FaceTime Him.

Anyway, we may not be able to send him emojis or 5-minute voice memos, BUT we do have a direct line to Him, a hotline, and it’s called PRAYER. 

This sort of communication isn’t where you have to put your pennies in the phone box. You don’t have to check the time difference to not wake Him up.  He’s not taking holiday leave. He doesn’t switch to airplane mode at night.

Prayer is open and available 24 hours, 7 days a week, midnight, morning, breakfast time, afternoon coffee time, sunset, late at night. Through Jesus, we can speak to God and not just for an emergency but ALL.THE.TIME. And we get the privilege of this because we are His children. 

Make use of this hotline, take advantage of being in two-way communication with the creator of the universe, both speaking to God in prayer and listening to His words. How special.

Psalm 145:18 - “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

Isn’t that just amazing?! In times of trouble, fear, panic, worry, the need for direction, or even joy and delight, we can speak to Him and pray to Him. We can’t forget that. Communication is vital in relationships and especially with God.

For me there have been many times where I have been stifled by fear, many times at night not feeling I can even move. In these moments I know that only one thing can shift the atmosphere, can shift my perspective, can shake me out and that is calling on the name of Jesus. It’s all I can say sometimes. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. 

I know that simply saying and calling on His name changes everything. 

I love the song “Tremble” where the lyrics are “Jesus, Jesus, you make the darkness tremble, Jesus, Jesus, you silence fear.”  It’s so true. Sing it over yourself.

I don’t have to say an elaborate, long-winded monologue to get everything across. In those moments, I know that just saying His name is enough. His name is powerful, beautiful, name above all names, strong and mighty.

John 14:6 NIV - “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So today 

Call on the name of Jesus because he hears you.

Call on the name of Jesus because he is near.

Call on the name of Jesus because he is the comforter.

Call on the name of Jesus because he is bigger than all your fears.

Amen.