Calling On The Lord

In the world of advertising especially the TV commercials every scriptwriter understands the power of two words. “CALL NOW” To our great annoyance all most all commercials carry phrases like; “Pick up your phone and call now” “the first 100 callers will get a gift” “not available in stores only order by phone” “Limited Offer,” “Call Now, Toll Free, 24 hours a Day”[1] All these action verbs and phrases create rather a false sense of urgency in the mind of gullible customers and force them to act hastily.

We all may have been rushed into action one time or the other and regretted later for foolish purchases or contacts we have gotten ourselves into. There is another kind of call which requires quick and consistent action on your part. I promise you that you will not regret it when you make that call. Down through the centuries many have made that call and were blessed and others have neglected it at their own peril. I am talking about “Calling on the LORD.” Today we will look at when this calling on the Lord began; why we should call on the LORD, and finally the blessings of calling on the LORD? Let’s look at when this calling on the Lord began.

I. THE ORIGIN OF CALLING ON THE LORD:

The phrase calling on the Lord is not a new invention but this kind of prayer has ancient roots way before Christ, David and Moses. The first mention of it occurs in Gen 4:25-26, “Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in the place of Abel since Cain killed him. Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to “call” on the name of the LORD.” From this passage we learn that Cain killed Abel, and then he went away from the LORD’s presence, built a city and led a total independent life style. Cain and his seed became corrupt

God wanted to raise a righteous seed so He granted Eve Seth and Seth had a son Enosh. Up until that point people had only known God as the creator of the universe who created everything their eyes could see. Once Enosh was born a group of people began to call on the name of the LORD. While Cain and those who came after him turned away from God these people affirmed their dependence on God by calling on Him. Jim Cymbala says, in his book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Spirit, “In fact, God’s first people were not called “Jews” or “the Children of Israel” or Hebrews.” In the very beginning their original name was, “those who call on the name of the LORD.” Since that time there has always been a group of people who have expressed their dependency on God by calling on the name of the LORD. God is still looking for people who would call on Him but why should we call on Him? Is it for His sake or for our benefit?

II. WHY SHOULD WE CALL ON THE LORD?

Firstly, we should call on the Lord because He is not just a super power that created the whole universe as some would think, but he also cares, hears and responds to our needs when we call on His name. The literal translation of the Hebrew word “Qara” means, “To cry out, to call aloud, to roar, or to implore aid.” Charles Spurgeon once remarked that “the best style of prayer is that which cannot be called anything else but a cry.”[2]

Nothing else touches the heart of God and moves the hand of God more then a loud cry that comes from the heart of his desperate children. Here are a couple of biblical stories of how God was touched by the cry of His children. Remember the story of Hagar the Egyptian maid of Sarah who had born Abraham a son? She was sent out with her very young son into the desert, where she wandered until all the drinking water was over. She put the boy under one of the bushes and began to sob. In Gen 21: 17, we read, “God heard the boy crying and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “God has heard the boy crying.. then he opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.

At a later time in the history of Israel there was a certain man whose name was Elkanah. He had two wives one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children but Hannah was barren. Can you imagine the agony and grief that Hannah had to endure due to her barrenness? On top of that her rival kept taunting her. That vexed Hannah to no end. Hannah went to the temple and in bitterness of soul she wept much and prayed to the Lord to an extent the high priest at that time thought she was fully drunk, so he confronted Hannah. Listen to her words, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled, I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. ..I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” (I Samuel 1: 1:20)