Hello God, It's Me - Calling on God in Prayer

Receiving a caring phone call from a loved one or a dear friend is always special, especially nowadays when people more often take to texting rather than verbal communication. We remember those instances when someone called us just to “catch up” and to “check on us”. Its always nice to feel loved.

Do you know God enjoys “phone calls” too? He wants to hear from us any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. But we often get involved in our daily lives and we forget to “touch base” with God. Or we are extremely busy and feel that we don’t have a sufficient amount of time available to give a proper prayer.

Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated and in fact, it’s not complicated. God gave us a direct line to him through prayer to make it simple. He designed his “direct line” so we could call him anytime and from anywhere and for any reason.

We typically turn immediately to prayer in times of trouble, distress, heartache, or desperation. But how often do we think to call on God to just give “thanks” or “praise” or to just talk? He desires to hear from you in all circumstances, good and bad. Philippians 4:6 tells us “In EVERY situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

If a child or a friend only calls you when they need something from you, how would you feel? You might even have someone like that in your life now. Wouldn’t you enjoy receiving a call from that same person for just the sake of saying “hello, how are you… I was thinking about you”?

No matter our reason for calling on God, we always have something we can be thankful for. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to “give thanks in ALL circumstances”. So whether we are in a desperate situation or everything is “peachy”, we are to express our appreciation to God… our appreciation for all He has given us, how He has helped us (in the past or present), and all He has promised us, even into eternity. And for his faithfulness, mercy, grace and loving-kindness towards us.

There’s no perfect formula to a prayer and there’s no time requirement. Our talk with God doesn’t need to be formal or include big spiritual words. He is our Father... so we talk to Him as we would towards a loved one. Sometimes it could be hard to know what to say, but the more often we talk to our Heavenly Father, the closer we will become to Him and the more natural it will feel. We read in Psalms 145:18, “The LORD is near to all who call on him.” James 4:8 tells us: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

To begin talking with God more often, find a time of day that works best for you… a time of day with the least distractions. Morning is typically the best time before we get engulfed in our responsibilities or unexpected activities. Some find that night is their most peaceful time. Find your peaceful time of day and dedicate a few minutes talking to God. You might not have any requests, but you can offer appreciation, share how you feel about the day ahead or the day you just finished. Ramble on, go in tangents, or pause and just sit there with God in silence. He is happy to just receive your call.

There may be times that you are just lost for words. In such moments, the Holy Spirit is here to help us in our prayers. Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:26, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Recently, I watched a devotional in which the woman shared her moments of desperation when her child was in a medical crisis. She was in a total loss as to how to express her need to God, so she said the only word that would come out, “Jesus”. She repeated it over and over and over. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” And she received the peace and comfort she needed.

God simply desires to hear from us. He desires to receive calls from His beloved children. Remember your Heavenly Father daily, because He remembers you daily. As we are told in Deuteronomy 31:6, “He will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So call on Him often. Give Him your love, your thanks, your praise, and hand over your worries and troubles. Find a quiet moment and simply start your call with “Hello God, It’s me.”