Last week I placed a phone call to someone I hadn’t seen recently. They didn’t answer, so I left a voice message asking them to return my call. I’ve not heard from them yet and it makes me wonder why. Did they not get the message? Do they not want to talk to me? Regardless, I may try to call once more, but probably no more than that.
A woman in Holland doesn’t have the same view of unreturned calls. The Associated Press is reporting today that this 42-year-old was recently arrested on charges of stalking. The 62-year-old man who was the focus of her attention filed charges after she wouldn’t stop calling his number. How many times did she try? According to police who investigated, she placed 65,000 calls in the last year! She claims they were in a relationship; he denies the claim.
I’ve been the object of incessant calls. I’m thinking of telemarketers who seem to always call about the time I’m enjoying my evening meal. I’m rarely interested in the product or services they hawk, but they just don’t seem to get the message. Caller ID has helped me somewhat; if I see a call from a 1-800 number, I usually don’t answer it. They continue to call, but I doubt it has been 65,000 times.
How does the Lord feel about the “calls” people make to Him? Prayer is the idea I have in mind now; there are no published phone numbers for heaven. Most people attempt to make such a call to the Lord, if only in dire circumstances. Sometimes it seems He didn’t get the call; or maybe He just doesn’t want to hear from us. Is that how we should look at the issue of unanswered prayers?
Jesus told a parable in Luke 18 that addresses the question of whether God wants to hear from His children. He told of a widow who approached “a judge who did not fear God nor regard man” (v. 2). The grumpy judge seemed to pay no attention at all to this widow’s plea, but that didn’t stop her. She continued to visit his court, day after day.
In exasperation the judge finally declared, “Yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me” (v. 5). The Lord seems to affirm the old adage, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Because she did not stop “calling”, the widow got what she desired.
What does Jesus’ parable say about God? Is He like the grumpy judge who would rather not be bothered, but will finally relent when it becomes clear the person praying won’t stop?
No, Jesus was stating just the opposite. After showing how people often behave, Jesus pointed to God: “And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” (v. 7). We’re not bothering God when we call upon Him. But we must realize that sometimes He “bears long” with us. Our timetable may not be God’s timetable.
That is, in fact, why Jesus spoke this parable, Luke says: “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (v. 1). If you are a child of God, know that God wants to hear from you! And if He delays in His answer, don’t interpret that as a sign that He doesn’t care. He absolutely does care.
No, we can’t wear God out with our frequent prayers. Such cries to the Lord actually strengthen our faith – if we don’t lose heart.
Timothy D. Hall