911 Prayers

In 1968, the first 911 call was made in Haleyville, Alabama. Today, the 911 emergency system is the state of the art. All you need to do is dial the number 911 and you will instantly be connected to a dispatcher. In front of the dispatcher will be a read-out that lists your telephone number, your address, and the name by which the telephone number is listed at that address. Also listening in are the police, fire department, and the paramedics.

A caller might be unable to say what the problem is. Or perhaps a woman's husband has just suffered a heart attack, and she is so out of control that all she can do is hysterically scream into the telephone. But the dispatcher does not need her to say anything. He knows where the call is coming from. Help is already on the way.

There are times in our lives when, in our desperation and pain, we dial 911 prayers. Sometimes we are hysterical. Sometimes we do not know the words to speak. But God hears. He knows our name and our circumstance.

Help is on the way. God has already begun the remedy.

But God does not want us to wait for an emergency to turn to Hm. Prayer should be such a natural part of our lives that we engage in it no matter the circumstances. We all remember from Scripture the story of Daniel in the lions' den. The enemies of Daniel had gone to Darius, king of Babylon with a devious plan. They managed to get him to sign a document which, according to the Medes and Persians, could not be changed. The decree stated that for thirty days anyone who asked a petition of any god or man other than the king himself would be thrown into a den of lions. Even though Daniel knew this, “he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom” (Daniel 6:10). “As was his custom” – Daniel's emergency praying reflected his consistent prayer life.

Although God welcomes our 911 calls, He also takes great delight in our thankful prayers when all is going well. Whatever your circumstances, whether this is a good day or a bad day, make prayer a vital part of your life. As Richard DeHann states in Our Daily Bread – if you want to know how to pray in the hard times, pray in the easy times.”