Lisa didn’t call today.
When my mom passed, I was the executor of her will. Her death came suddenly, so it was unexpected. It is one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do, to sort through her affairs while grieving. If you’ve been an executor before, you understand the overwhelming amount of paperwork involved. You need to get several death certificates, copies of bank statements, and knowledge of personal information like social security and driver’s license numbers, medical insurance, etc. It makes your head hurt. I also needed to forward her mail to my address, and when a letter or a bill came, it brought a wave of pain, reminding me all over again that she was gone. I cried for weeks. I sympathize with anyone who has gone through this process.
What prompted this memory was a book I’ve just finished, Graceful Influence by Lori Stanley Roeleveld. This book brings to light lessons from women in the Bible. The Impact of Prayer chapter discusses Rebekah and Hannah’s choices after hearing God’s direction. It begins with a verse from Luke 18:1:
He told them a parable that they should always pray and not lose heart.
The lesson is about praying constantly, but sometimes, we give up on prayer and think we need to take things into our own hands, as Rebekah did. God told Rebekah that her younger son would rule over her older one. Rebekah felt she had to ensure this would happen, manipulating and deceiving her husband and older son, which ultimately tore the family apart. Hannah, however, who had been barren until her fervent prayers were answered, gave up her son, Samuel, to the priesthood, trusting God with the future.
Roeleveld shares, “Persistence in prayer can be a powerful force, but many of us give up too quickly. We imagine either God hasn’t heard us or He hasn’t responded when really, He’s urging us to persevere, continue to pray, petition, or intercede without ceasing. God desires a relationship of faith with His people.”
What I took from this is that God wants a genuine daily relationship.
That’s when I remembered sorting out my mom’s papers. I found a three-ring binder with notes about her bills, people who visited, phone numbers, etc. As I went through it, on one page, she wrote, “Lisa didn’t call today.” My heart contracted from the hurt I caused. Knowing my mom was lonely from living alone and being retired, I made a quick and sometimes lengthy call with her every day or most days. I traveled thirty weeks out of the year, and it wasn’t always easy.
It hit me that’s how God must feel when I don’t “phone home” to Him and really talk, not from route prayers or quick ones, but sharing what is happening in my life. Although I felt saddened by disappointing my mom, I realized the need to remain devoted to my daily communication with God. Besides reading a daily devotional and rushing on, we must make time for prayer to be a two-way street. Listening in silence, waiting, persevering without ceasing. I want to avoid regretting seeing a note from God saying, “Lisa didn’t call today.” Will you join me in prayer?
