I heard a girl asking advice of a friend, should she call and leave another message for her love interest, having called twice, would three make her seem desperate;
A man told me he had called several times and I hadn’t answered, I asked him how many times he would have called, his answer was quick, “Until you answered“;
I was in deep thought, concentrating on something I needed to do, when I realized that my name was being called, over and over, by my grandson, he would have called, almost without taking a breath, until I looked up;
The dog stands at the door and yaps continuously until she is finally heard and let back into the cool retreat of the house;
A bill collector had gotten my number, by mistake, and wouldn’t believe he had the wrong number, I finally had his number blocked, he wouldn’t have quit because the bill hadn’t been paid;
I remember one day, years ago, I was sitting at my computer and heard my dad scream my name, it startled me so that I ran as fast as I could up fifteen steps fully expecting to see him lying on the floor with blood gushing from some orifice. What was wrong? Nothing, he was sitting in his chair and when his normal calls didn’t get my attention he had amped it up a notch, sure enough I came running!
We are willing to call the doctor’s office, the school office, the pastor’s office until we get a satisfactory answer,
yet when it comes to calling God, so often, we pray and when the answer isn’t instant, like mashed potatoes reconstituted by hot water we want to give up, say that He didn’t hear.
Luke 18:1-8 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’ “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’ “Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” It makes me ashamed to think what the answer to that last question would be; will He find faith when He returns?
Psalm 27:13 I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Jonah 2:7 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple.
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Jeremiah 33:3 This is God’s Message, ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’ What am I saying here tonight?
Luke 21:19 says it all, “In your patience possess ye your souls.”
Harolene.com 
Your post makes me thing of Fred Craddock sermons!
Ha!
Hey… btw, I am pretty sure old Craddock is gone now, but he was from Georgia. An old country boy, I reckon. Not sure if he grew up there, but I think he finally landed there at least.
Anyway, he was a big fish in our small pond. Makes me wonder if you ever heard of him. He trained a lot of preachers in homiletics. His niche was story telling. He was the master at weaving the Bible into the stories of our lives. I doubt any will match his skill at that for 300 years, but he sure gave his talents away.
Some awesome sermons.
I never forget the one I heard where he preached about the names listed at the end of Romans. People in that church that St Paul called out by name in his letter. Who woulda thought you could preach a whole sermon on a list of names like that. People whose names we know, but their lives were not recorded for us.
Each one special to Jesus, to their congregation(s) and to Paul. They warranted mention. You could count on them to be there, to be solid, to devote their lives to God’s service. WE know that much.
In Craddock’s hands he winds his sermon down in a most haunting way. Disturbs me to this day. Haunts, me you see. Holds on to me and won’t let me go.
At the end of his sermon talking all about how special these people were to Paul and his church his mission… Craddock seamlessly shifts over to a story about a woman having a crisis who reached out to him. She needed a pastor’s help and it was urgent. Just now, I don’t recall the stated need, but I remember that Craddock, the master storyteller, had me hooked. There was some suspense.
It turns out, Craddock was overbooked. He had a relatively equal calling at the same time. He needed to be two places at once. How could he tend to this lady’s crisis?
But he struck on an idea. He knew people in the congregation he could call on who would tend to this needy one. He began contemplating the list of names of people who were mature and dependable, devoted to Jesus and eager to serve. He would call them and ask, “Can I give her your name?”
But very smoothly, in that slick southern style that the rest of us will just never grasp, but by which some of us are grasped sometimes, Craddock switched this over yet again.
The sermon ends with him asking us… his listeners… “Can I give her your name?… Can I give her your name? Can I give her your name?”
And as the refrain dies, the sermon closes.
You have just been led to the service. You are called. It moved off the story board and into your life.
Craddock was known for that kind of homiletic mastery.
Your post reminds me of him.
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I am very honored that my post would remind you of that great story teller and preacher of the word. If you can capture an audience whether in person or on paper with a story and weave the word into it then you can get your point across… did Jesus do that with his parables? I’m thinking… yes 🙂 Thank you, you continue to encourage me, and I hope I can return that in some way 🙂
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I just went over to YouTube and found Rev. Craddock, there are his sermons there and I intend to listen to them! Thank you for that!
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I started poking around looking for that Craddock sermon I was talking about – especially since you suggested it. I had looked for it a few times several years ago, and could not. I even contacted my old prof from grad school and asked him about it, and it looked like it was not going to be available for free. When I asked him for the details, it was him who told me it was a sermon about the end of Romans and the list of names.
Ha. I found it. Only he was looking at Hebrews and the cloud of witnesses. At least in the one I found. I think it was the same sermon. It was coming back to me as I listened carefully.
In case you havent already found it, let me try to link you…
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YAY!!! Thank you! As it happens I am going to have this coming week basically to myself, except for caring for my aunt who is 89 and has a broken right arm… but hoping to catch up on some of the reading I have missed out on and listening to a wonderful sermon. I got hooked on listening to Ravi Jacharias after he died, I listened to everything I could find, what an interesting man. He was based here in Atlanta, so I am happy to have found someone else. He looks like a solid old gentleman 🙂 h
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