God at a Distance - Martin Wiles

But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:8 NLT

Sitting silently, it waited to be picked up to talk to people who were far away.

Telephones have changed drastically during my lifetime. The first phone I remember was solid black with only a receiver and perched on my grandmother’s buffet in her dining room. To make a call, I picked up the receiver and, if no one was talking, waited for the operator’s assistance. This was called a party line.

The next phone looked similar but had a dial so I could place my call without the operator’s help. Then the push button phone arrived. The cordless phone followed. Now I wasn’t bound by a cord and could move about while talking. Finally, cellular phones revolutionized communication. I could talk while traveling. At present, I can carry my phone (computer) with me anywhere I go. Distance is no longer an issue.

While distance was once a problem when using a phone, it never has been for God. This Roman officer knew this long before the idea of communicating by phone ever entered an inventor’s mind. His servant was paralyzed and needed healing. He approached Jesus who offered to come to his house and heal the servant. The officer suggested Jesus do it long distance. Jesus was amazed at his faith. 

Sometimes, I forget distance isn’t a problem for God. I imagine when praying that my prayers drift up to heaven and then vie for God’s attention—among the millions of others being offered at the exact moment. Then God has to schedule when he’ll take care of mine. And I wait.

To begin with, God is Spirit and omnipresent. He’s not bound by time and is everywhere simultaneously. He can hear my prayers and millions more at the exact time and in the same moment. He isn’t confined by chronos time but operates in kairos time. While he can answer our prayers from a distance, from God’s perspective, distance is never what we perceive it to be. He is as close as the breath we breathe to utter our requests.

God is never too busy or far away to answer your prayers and supplications. Go to him often, believing he will answer any prayer made in faith.

Father, I thank You for being as close as the air I breathe and for Your willingness to answer my prayers.

Tweetable: Are you seeing God at a distance or close-up?  

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The Always-Answered Phone Line - Martin Wiles

Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1 NLT

There’s only one phone line I don’t have to worry about being answered.

Phones have come a long way. The oldest one I remember was at my grandparents’ home. A rotary phone with no rotary. Just a circular face and a handset. But you couldn’t talk anytime you wished. My grandparents were on a party line—a shared line. If you heard people talking when you lifted the receiver, you could either listen (which my cousin and I often did) or politely say, “I’m sorry,” and hang up.

Then came the improved rotary phone that looked the same as the party line phone, but actually had a dial. Placing one’s finger in the slots and rotating the dial got the person you called, if they were home. Push button phones were next and made dialing a number quicker.

The cordless phone revolutionized the phone industry. No longer did I have to stand in one spot and talk. I could roam about the house, doing whatever I was doing while I talked. I could even walk outside.

But nothing revolutionized the phone industry as the cell phone did. To begin with, they were bag phones and had to be plugged into an outlet in one’s vehicle. Technology soon removed them. Now I carry it on my side wherever I go, and it serves as a computer as well. A long way from the first rotary phone I used that I had to take turns sharing with other people.

In spite of phone advancements, I can still choose to ignore someone’s call—as they can mine. The psalmist pleaded for God to answer him, to free him from his troubles, and to have mercy on him. I’ve made similar prayers on numerous occasions. While God could choose to ignore me—and sometimes it appears He might—He chooses to answer. And His answers aren’t limited by technology.

Busyness isn’t a problem for God. Unlike an operator, He can handle more than one call at a time. Some calls I make don’t give me comforting answers, but the ones I make to God always do. He knows the right thing to say and the right answer to give.

God’s answers to your prayers might not be what you were expecting or desiring, but His answer is always more powerful than your problem. Trust His answers, and call Him often.

Tweetable: How often are you calling God?

Prayer: Father, thank You for continuously answering our prayer calls. 

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