Who called my name?

It isn’t a fun way to be awakened from a sound sleep, I was hearing my name called, loudly, by someone at my bedside. I jumped out of the bed saying, “Yes? What is it?” and was surprised that my room was so still, there was no one there. I ran down the hall to check my grandchildren thinking one of them had called out to me but as I looked in each of their rooms they were both still fast asleep. I went back to my room but sleep had been replaced with wondering what was wrong, the time on my IPhone read, 5:52AM. The wonderful aroma of coffee was wafting up the stairs to my room and I went down to fill my fat, white mug. I began preparing breakfast for my daughter who has to leave for work at 6:30, and the phone rang. I answered, hearing the voice of an old friend with an urgent prayer request. She said she had been awake since 5AM and had talked to a friend about calling me for prayer. I asked her what time that was, “5:45 or so,” was the answer.

1 Samuel 3:3-4 Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” Then he ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” And so he did.

That scripture ran through my mind as I listened to the request. It has happened several times before, one morning I heard my name, but that time I saw the person standing beside my bed as I opened my eyes, realizing of course that he wasn’t really there I knew something as wrong and I prayed for him, it was 4:30AM. I found out later that day that he had a near fatal heart attack at that exact time, I was so glad I had prayed.

The comment on this devotion that always makes me feel complete is, “Were you reading my mind?” “Was that for me?” “Who told you I needed that?” To realize that I have heard the voice of the Lord concerning you is most wonderful. When our family had a terrible car crash in the middle of the night we later found out that a lot of people had been wakened feeling the need to pray for us, without those prayers I do believe we really would have died, the paper reported the next day that three people were killed, well they were wrong, weren’t they?

People ask, “If God is so good, why…” then give their reasons, starving children, war, lack of love, and the answer is simple. When Eve took the fruit and then shared it with Adam they gave control, dominion of the earth, which God had graciously given to them, to Satan, who was formerly God’s worship leader! He has control of all the air above the earth and we have to ask and give God permission, to work in and for us. Jesus said: Matthew 18:18-20 “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

It is the power of agreement that gets things done. If all the Christians would band together and pray for: world starvation, or peace, I mean really agree, it would happen! Our problem is that everyone has so many agendas that we can’t agree, so we don’t have the answers. The only thing you can do, personally, is to stay tuned in to the Spirit of God. Keep your spiritual ears open and learn the voice of the Good Shepherd: John 10:27 My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good.

When you feel the nudge to pray for someone, stop everything and pray, right then, that might be the prayer that saves a life!