Commanded to Call Upon Him
“I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my
supplications.” (Psalm 116:1) The Lord wants to hear from us. He invites us to
pray to Him without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He promises to hear us when
we pray – “And this is the confidence
that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears
us.” (1 John 5:14) “As
for me, I call to God … and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17). In
today’s key verse, we are exhorted by God, Himself, to call upon Him.
“Call upon me in the day of trouble.” The
first part of today’s verse is a command from God to call on Him when we are in
trouble. We certainly shouldn’t pray only when trouble comes, but according to
this command, we should definitely pray when we are in times of trouble or
affliction. God commands it. Don’t rely on your own ingenuity or your own
determination to deliver yourself. Call upon Him and watch Him work! Are you
having trouble or trials today? Call upon Him!
“I will deliver you.” The
second part is an amazing promise God makes to us. If we call on Him, He will
deliver us. He gives no limits as to how often we can pray. He only gives us
His promise to answer. He doesn’t specify how He will deliver us, and it may
not always be in the way we wish for. Sometimes He delivers us “out of” our
trouble, and sometimes He delivers us “in the midst of” trouble. But, whatever
His method, His promise is always, “I will deliver you.”
“And you shall glorify Me.” The
third part of this verse indicates the real reason for prayer in the grand
overarching plan of heaven. Prayer is not so much the mechanism we use to get
rescued, as it is a means of displaying God and His glory to the watching
world. When God provides, we may be tempted to forget Him and think we have
taken care of our problem ourselves. But when we pray and He answers, we must recognize
His hand of provision and be careful to honor (glorify) Him. We rob God of
honor and fail to glorify Him when we don’t recognize that He was the one who
rescued and provided for us.
Do you want your life to glorify God? To bring Him
fame and honor? To influence a lost world with His light? Then pray dear Christian.
Tell Him your troubles. Tell Him your afflictions. Call upon Him and He will
deliver you. And when He does, a watching world will hear of His glory and
power and grace and forgiveness!
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